Israel sorry for 'misunderstandings' in shooting incident

"The prime minister explained to a German parliamentary delegation the nature of what happened and apologized for the misunderstandings which arose last week," according to a statement released by the premier's office.

Olmert "highlighted the importance of the German forces' participation in the international force deployed in Lebanon" and vowed to keep up "direct contact between Israeli and German forces to avoid a repeat of such incidents."

In a later statement the prime minister's office said that Olmert "expressed his regrets about the incidents between the Israeli army and the German UNIFIL force" in a telephone conversation Sunday with German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

"For Israel the deployment of a German force which is to play a key role in the implementation of UN resolutions on Lebanon is of utmost importance," the text added.

Olmert also stressed that Israel would do everything possible to cooperate with the German force so that such incidents do not happen again, the statement said.

The German defense ministry said last week that in two separate incidents, Israeli warplanes fired shots over a helicopter and an unarmed German vessel backing up the UN mission off the Lebanese coast.

The confrontations came just days after Germany assumed command of the marine component of the UN peacekeeping forces in Lebanon (UNIFIL) on October 18, in its first military foray into the Middle East since World War II.

German Defense Minister Franz Josef Jung is to meet his Israeli counterpart Amir Peretz on Friday in a further attempt to clear up confusion surrounding the incidents.

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