JERUSALEM, Oct. 29 (Xinhua) -- Israeli Prime Minister
Ehud Olmert Sunday apologized for misunderstandings in a shooting incident last
week between Israeli jets and the German naval forces off the shore of Lebanon.
According to a statement issued by the Prime Minister's office, Olmert met with a senior German parliamentary delegation during which he explained the nature of the event and apologized for the misunderstandings.
Olmert also spoke with German Chancellor Angela
Merkel on Sunday evening, expressing his regret over the recent incident, the
statement said.
Last week, German Media reported that two Israeli
F-16aircrafts fired two shots when a German helicopter took off from its carrier
docking off the Lebanese coast.
An Israel Defense Forces spokeswoman then denied the
report. Israeli Defense Minister Amir Peretz also dismissed the reports as
completely untrue.
Germany assumed command of a UN naval force off
Lebanon about two weeks ago and has sent eight ships and 1,000 service personnel
to join the UN peacekeeping mission in the region. The naval force is charged
with preventing weapons smuggling and helping maintain a ceasefire between
Israel and the Lebanese Hezbollah guerrillas.
The 34-day conflict between Israel and Lebanese
Hezbollah ended on Aug. 14 under UN Security Council Resolution 1701 which
authorizes an expansion of UN peacekeeping forces to 15,000 troops to help the
Lebanese government take control of the southern territories.
Germany confirms incident between navy vessel and Israeli planes
BERLIN, Oct. 25 (Xinhua) -- A spokesman for Germany's Defense Ministry confirmed on Wednesday an incident on Tuesday in which six Israeli F-16 jets flew very low over a German naval vessel patrolling the Lebanon coast.
The jets activated infra-red decoys and one of the jets fired two shots into the air, said Thomas Raabe, quoted by German news agency DPA as saying. Full Story
Israeli army denies shooting at German vessel in Lebanon
JERUSALEM, Oct. 25 (Xinhua) -- Israel Air Force (IAF) warplanes did not fire at German navy vessel patrolling the Lebanese coast, an Israel Defense Forces (IDF) spokeswoman told Xinhua on Wednesday.
"There was no attack on German ships," said the spokeswoman, adding that the IDF is still checking details about the incident.
The IDF made the denial in response to reports saying that two Israeli warplanes and a German navy vessel have clashed off the Lebanese coast. Full Story
