On Thursday, the German government denied the validity of the reports, which accused German soldiers participating in the United Nations mission in Lebanon (UNIFIL) of cooperating with Israel.
The German Ministry of Defense said in a statement carried by the German News Agency: “Media outlets close to Hezbollah in Lebanon are spreading a narrative that… Germany The German-led United Nations Naval Task Force intervened in the fighting operations in Lebanon for Saleh Israel. The German government categorically denies these accusations.”
The statement added: “The Lebanese Coastal Radar Authority, funded by Germany, is run by Lebanese soldiers, and…Lebanese Army He is the one who determines and controls what happens to the information obtained from the radar stations and who receives it. The Naval Task Force does not have any direct contact with the Israeli army. No information about the situation is passed on.”
The Ministry noted that “the principle of neutrality applies to parties to the conflict in United Nations missions,” and added: “We adhere to this strictly. The mission of the Maritime Task Force is determined by the mandate of the United Nations, and this constitutes the binding framework for our participation,” stressing that the work of the task force is “transparent in At all times, as well as towards other countries participating in UNIFIL forces.”
What are the foundations of the accusations?
- Germany currently participates with about 100 soldiers in the UNIFIL force, and about 40 German soldiers are present at the headquarters of the peace mission in Naqoura in the middle of the area witnessing battles, in addition to about 60 German soldiers on board the German warship “Ludwigshafen M Rhein”, in which Germany also leads the part. Marine from the United Nations forces.
- In October, the ship’s crew announced that it had confronted what it described as a drone loaded with explosives, declaring that this was within the framework of self-defense, and that the drone exploded after colliding with the water.
- In early November, Israeli special forces arrested a man in the town of Batroun The Lebanese coast, and media reports stated that the operation was carried out using speedboats, which made circles close to Hezbollah accuse Berlin Involved in this process.
- The Germans have since become the focus of media attention HezbollahThere were accusations in media reports that Germany and Naval Task Force ships monitored the Israelis and tolerated them, and perhaps supported them, and these reports caused an uproar in Lebanon.
- UNIFIL forces later said, commenting on the Batroun operation, that they were not involved in any kidnapping or “other violations of Lebanese sovereignty,” describing the news as misleading information and false rumors that put peacekeepers at risk.
