The German Defense Ministry is investigating an incident in which two Israeli warplanes fired shots and dropped flares near a German ship off the Lebanese coast. The ship was patrolling the waters as part of its UN peacekeeping mission. A Lebanese army source said, “Israeli jets provoked the incident and fired shots low over the German vessel prompting the German force to go on high alert.”

Not surprisingly, the Israeli Defense Ministry officially denied the incident, with Israeli Defense Minister, Amir Peretz, saying the reports “were completely untrue”. However, an anonymous spokesperson for the Israeli Defense Ministry said that the two F-16 fighters had indeed fired “two shots and released flares”, but that the flares are used “as a defense tactic against heat seeking missiles”. A senior Israeli military spokesperson also confirmed that the incident took place a few days ago, and that the army was investigating the report.

This incident against the German naval force comes at a time when French UNIFIL forces have complained of similar acts of intimidation from Israeli warplanes. Israeli jets have intensified flights in the past few days across Lebanon by flying at low altitude and staging mock raids over areas in southern part of the country and the capital. UN Security Council resolution 1701, which ended the 34-day war, called for a ceasefire, and the deployment of UN troops in Lebanon. Israel continues to defiantly breach the resolution, undermining the UN mission to keep peace in the region.

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