Last update - 00:00 20/09/2006
Germany okays peacekeeping naval force for Lebanon
By The Associated Press and Reuters
German lawmakers voted by a large majority Wednesday to send warships to the UN peacekeeping force in Lebanon with a mandate to stop arms shipments to Hezbollah guerrillas.
The measure passed by a vote of 442 to 152 with five abstentions. The liberal Free Democrats (FDP) and the far-left Left Party opposed the mission.
Germany will send up to 2,400 service personnel and lead a multinational naval force patrolling the Lebanese coast to reinforce the cease-fire that ended Hezbollah's month-long war with Israel.
The vote removes the last hurdle to the German deployment, which has been a subject of intense debate due to misgivings linked to Germany's Nazi past and the Holocaust
Eager to avoid the potential for clashes with Israeli soldiers, the German government has refused to send ground troops into southern Lebanon. Instead, its forces will patrol Lebanon's coast to prevent weapons from reaching Hezbollah guerrillas.
In a debate before the vote, Merkel urged approval, saying that stabilizing Lebanon could open the door to a wider Middle East peace process that could help stem Islamic terrorism.
She also argued that Germany's history meant it was obliged to join the effort to help in the region, also militarily, because Israel has given its approval.
That was "a signal of trust in Germany, in the country in whose name the destruction of the Jews and World War II began," Merkel said. "We should take such a signal seriously."
Still, some lawmakers say Germany's moral obligation to support Israel means it cannot be neutral in the Middle East and that it should limit its involvement to civilian aid and diplomacy.
"If we expose ourselves militarily, we are part of the problem and we endanger our role as mediator between Israel and the Arab world," Lothar Bisky, a leader of the opposition Left Party, said in parliament.
Merkel reiterated her pledge to use Berlin's six-month presidency of the European Union, starting in January, to press for a broader Middle East peace process.
She also said Germany would continue to try to draw Syria into the process, and called on the United States to renew its engagement.
"At no point must Europe think it can do this alone," she said. "Despite Europe's growing importance, little or nothing can be done in this region without the United States."
Germany is expected to send eight ships including two frigates equipped with helicopters to the eastern Mediterranean.