Israeli jets clash with German Navy ship near Lebanon
Pastor Dale Morgan
Thursday October 26, 12:24 AM Reuters
*Israeli jets clash with German Navy ship near Lebanon*
BERLIN (Reuters) - Two Israeli warplanes and a German navy vessel have
clashed off the Lebanese coast, the Defence Ministry in Berlin said on
Wednesday without giving further details.
Germany daily Der Tagesspiegel earlier on Wednesday quoted a junior
German defence minister as telling a parliamentary committee that two
Israeli F-16 fighters flew low over the German ship and fired two shots.
The jets also released infra-red countermeasures to ward off any rocket
attack, the paper quoted him as saying.
The minister did not say when the incident happened or what had caused
it, the paper said.
"I can confirm that there was an incident," a ministry spokesman told
Reuters on Wednesday. An investigation was underway and he therefore was
unable to provide further information, he added.
An Israeli military spokeswoman said she was checking the report.
Germany assumed command of a United Nations naval force off the coast of
Lebanon 10 days ago and has sent a force of eight ships and 1,000
service personnel to join the international peace operation in the region.
The naval force is charged with preventing weapons smuggling and helping
maintain a cease-fire between Israel and radical Lebanese-based Islamic
group Hezbollah.