"I don't expect any repeat of such an incident," Jung said late Friday on ZDF, Germany's national public television broadcaster.

Israeli jets fired in the air over a German intelligence-gathering ship off Lebanon's coast, German officials said Friday, as both countries continued to give different versions of what happened.

The ship, the 83-meter Alster A-50, was not listed as part of the German flotilla sent to prevent weapons smuggling off the coast of Lebanon as part of the expanded U.N. peacekeeping force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), Defense Ministry spokesman Thomas Raabe said.

Raabe said the Alster was 90 kilometers off the coast in international waters when six Israeli F-16s flew over it and misaimed shots were fired in the air. The unarmed ship was there as part of efforts to protect the UNIFIL naval force, he said, noting that Israeli vessels had been hit with missiles during fighting with Hamas.

Asked what the motive for the jets' overflight was, he said, "I don't want to speculate. I don't think there is a serious background." He added that Israel had high security needs given the situation in the Middle East.
Raabe wouldn't say how Israel explained the incident to Germany's government.

Israel issued a statement saying that the planes approached a helicopter after it took off Tuesday from a German ship without notifying Israeli forces. The Israelis denied shots were fired.

About Alster ship
It is of the OSTE-class fleet. These service ships have been designed as highly efficient early warning, communications and reconnaissance platforms able to operate independently as well as within an operational and communications network with other German and international units and agencies. These units are equipped with state-of-the-art electromagnetic, hydro-acoustic and electro-optical detection devices and, in the past, have repeatedly been successfully employed in strategic intelligence gathering in crisis areas. The fleet service ships of the OSTE class were commissioned in 1988 and 1989. With their operating range of over 5,000 nm they are designed for extended reconnaissance missions. In addition to their permanent crew, communications personnel and other specialists for electronic reconnaissance may be embarked depending on the situation and mission.

Picture: Oste A-52 ship, similar to Alster A-50

Source: AP, Ya Libnan