'Misunderstanding' Prompts High Level Talks Between Countries

In light of Germany's relationship with Israel, where both countries maintain extremely correct relations, it may seem improbable to imagine, but the two nations are having what amounts to a military dispute.

Last Tuesday, six Israeli F-16s buzzed the German Naval reconnaissance vessel Alster off the coast of Lebanon. The German Navy is patrolling the area, under the auspices of the United Nations, to ward off weapons smuggling to the terrorist organization Hizbollah from Iran and other hostile nations. It is the first major deployment of a German military unit in such a volatile region since WWII.

It is not clear if the Alster is part of the German UN force, or floating independently as a spy vessel which could conceivably keep track of Israeli Air Force activities.

The Germans claim one jet fired two shots in the air, and the other fighters dropped anti-missile flares, though Israel denies any shots were fired. It does admit it buzzed the ship on several low-level passes. Israel also claims that because it was not informed that the Alster would be in the area, it was forced to investigate.

On Thursday, a German Navy helicopter was forced to divert when several F-16s converged on it, according to the Deutche World. That helicopter had the admiral leading the German Naval mission in Lebanon on board.

Both countries are quick to say the incidents were merely misunderstandings. German Defense Minister Franz Josef Jung played down the incident. "One couldn't speak of a 'confrontation' with Israeli soldiers," he said in an interview with the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung newspaper. Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert also apologized for the misunderstanding.

It's fair to speculate the German Defense minister will have lots to talk about when he meets his Israeli counterpart in Jerusalem next week.

FMI: www.iaf.org.il, www.marine.de/en