November 5, 2006: In a move that will likely end any questions in Germany about German participation in the United Nations "Unifil" peacekeeping mission in Lebanon, the Lebanese government has given the German navy permission to operate virtually unrestricted within the six mile zone along the Lebanese coast north of Israel without first being requested to do so by Beirut. The decision by the Lebanese government has no time limit and is apparently the result of the Lebanese navy's inability to operate in rough sea conditions which would make it easier for illegal shipments of weapons to be delivered to the radical Islamic Hezbollah militia.

Lebanon's decision may help deflect Israel's critical stance on the effectiveness of the Unifil mission. Although Israel supports Unifil involvement – and Germany's participation in Unifil – in monitoring the ceasefire, it had questioned whether the German navy could prevent weapons being smuggled by sea if it were not allowed to enter the six mile zone. Prior to the decision Gad Shimron, a reporter specializing in security issues for the Israeli daily "Maariv", commented that "if a ship with weapons for Hezbollah leaves a Syrian port, the captain feels safe heading south as long as he doesn't get more than six miles from the coast." According to Shimron, the captain could head for Hezbollah landing points undisturbed as if he were carrying a load of olives, without any concerns over being intercepted by the German navy.

Israel's prime minister Ehud Olmert may have seen the deployment of international troops as a political victory for Israel, but the result is also an "internationalization" of the conflict with Lebanon. France has openly criticized Israel's continual routine violation of Lebanese air space, and the European Union has called on Israel to respect Lebanon's borders. "They can protest all they want," Israeli deputy defense minister Ephraim Sneh said in a radio broadcast. "Our observation flights will continue."

Israeli air force activity over Lebanese territory is so routine that Israeli officers saw no need to report incidents involving the German navy. Israeli defense minister Amir Peretz asked for a briefing only after the buzzing of a German surveillance ship (photo: the "Alster") and airborne German helicopters had become a hot topic in the press. On the morning of October 24, six Israeli fighter jets buzzed the "Alster" as it operated some 55 miles off the Lebanese coast. As part of its various duties, the "Alster" helps monitor Israeli air force activity over Lebanon.

According to German military sources, at least two warning shots were fired by one of the jets. Lebanese military officials confirmed the incident. When Israeli defense minister Peretz announced that its planes had not fired any shots, German military officials revealed that the "Alster" had filmed the entire incident – including the discharge of the jet's guns – with its sophisticated video surveillance equipment.

With the German boulevard press proclaiming that the video recordings from the surveillance cameras on the Alster would make liars out of Peretz and the Israeli military, and the opposition FDP demanding the release of the video, German prime minister Angela Merkel was intent on damage control. Israeli prime minister Olmert came to her aid by voicing regret for the incident and putting his air force on notice that there "should be no repeat" of what had happened, an indirect admission that the German version of the "Alster" buzzing was correct. In a personal phone call to the German chancellor, Olmert asked Merkel to continue her country's participation in the Unifil mission, emphasizing that Germany's contribution was of "great importance". Olmert also offered to establish a liasion contact between the German navy and the Israeli military, and the Israeli military admitted that the "Alster" incident had occurred in international waters.

Although a majority of Germans surveyed initially supported their country's participation in Unifil, some politicians were openly sceptical of the mission. Kerstin Müller, foreign policy expert of the Green Party, told the "Berliner Zeitung" that the weighty historical ballast carried by Germany would prevent its participation. The Central Committee of the Jewish community in Germany also voiced its opposition to German participation in Unifil. If incidents like the buzzing of the "Alster" are possible during a period of relative calm, what might happen if the Israel-Lebanon conflict flares up and Germany's naval units with Unifil are caught in the middle?