Germany expects no more 'incidents' off Lebanese coast

German Defense Minister Franz Josef Jung said in Beirut on Friday that he expects no more shooting incidents between the Israeli Army and German forces backing up a UN peacekeeping mission in Lebanon. The German defense ministry said last week that in two separate incidents, Israeli warplanes fired shots over a German helicopter and on an unarmed German vessel off the Lebanese coast.
"I assure you that no more incidents of this kind are going to happen ... The important thing is to implement United Nations Security Council resolution 1701," Jung said following talks in Beirut with Prime Minister Fouad Siniora.
"We are currently implementing our mandate ... and I assure that there'll be no more incidents of this kind, so we are able to fulfill our mission here," he said before flying to Israel.
Two US officials demanded that Israeli Air Force overflights of Lebanon be halted, saying that such flights undermine the standing of Siniora, Haaretz daily reported on Friday.
The two US diplomats, David Welch and Elliott Abrams, held short meetings Thursday with Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni.
The incident also follows repeated warnings by France and the United Nations over the past three weeks that Israel was endangering the multinational peace mission in Lebanon by sending its fighter planes into Lebanese airspace.
The confrontations came just days after Germany assumed command of the marine component of the UN Interim forces in Lebanon (UNIFIL) on October 18, in its first military foray into the Middle East since World War II.
Germany has sent a force of eight ships and 1,000 service personnel charged with preventing weapons smuggling and helping maintain the cease-fire.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb
The country is only heading the naval component of the UN force in Lebanon, having refused to contribute ground troops in a bid to avoid clashes with Israeli forces due to lingering sensitivities over the Holocaust.
Jung said he discussed the incidents with his Israeli counterpart and added "I hope that we all cooperate together to fully implement resolution 1701 and we are doing our best to do so."
"I believe we should fully implement the resolution to ensure Lebanon's sovereignty, existence for Israel and a clear solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict," he said.
"The cease-fire is a precondition for finding political solutions for the Middle East."
Jung also held talks on Friday with his Lebanese counterpart Elias Murr.
Flying from Beirut, Jung went straight into talks with his Israeli counterpart, Amir Peretz, at the Defense Ministry in Israel's commercial capital, Tel Aviv.
Israeli officials said the talks focused on Iran's nuclear program and on the situation in Lebanon since the UN-brokered August 14 cease-fire that ended the war in Lebanon.
Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert on Sunday apologized for "misunderstandings" following the shooting incidents.
The incidents were the first reported clash between the Israeli Army and the international peacekeeping force in Lebanon. - Agencies