Defending Germany's refusal to send ground troops to serve with United Nations peacekeepers in Lebanon, Chancellor Angela Merkel said Wednesday that German soldiers must never be put in a position where they might even accidently shoot at Israelis.
Merkel, in a speech to parliament, underlined her government's pledge to send naval forces to serve off Lebanon's coast. But she won strong applause by adding: "German ground troops cannot be stationed in Lebanon."
Merkel, while not mentioning the Holocaust, said Germany had a special obligation to ensure Israel's security. "It has to be prevented - even if it is unintentional - that German soldiers ever shoot at Israelis," Merkel said. |