Germany to consider sending troops to Lebanon

BERLIN: Germany would consider sending troops to Lebanon as part of a UN force if certain conditions were met, its defence minister said on Monday, a move which would be controversial given Germany's history with Israel.

As Israeli forces and Hizbollah guerrillas continued to fight in south Lebanon, politicians are increasingly talking about a possible deployment of an international force to stabilise the Lebanese border with Israel.

Several European Union countries are ready to contribute to a peace force but problems remain about ensuring it can fulfil its mission, EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana said on Monday.

More than 60 years after World War Two and the Holocaust, in which the Nazis killed about 6 million Jews, Germany is still trying to define its international role, especially in military terms.

Defence Minister Franz Josef Jung said if both sides in the conflict and the international community requested German participation, it would be difficult for Berlin to decline.   But he added there would be conditions, including the release of the kidnapped Israeli soldiers, a ceasefire and the agreement of both sides to such a force.

"We could not refuse a peace mission of this nature if these conditions were met and if requests were directed to us," Jung told German television station N24.

His statement goes beyond comments from German Chancellor Angela Merkel who on Sunday ruled out the immediate involvement of German troops.

Although Germany has sent troops to Afghanistan and Congo, sending soldiers to the Israeli border would trigger a serious domestic debate.

Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier, who visited the region at the weekend, addressed the sensitivities.

"I think it is important that the discussions over a German involvement are being treated with the utmost sensitivity in Germany," he told German broadcaster ZDF on Sunday.

"I think that this is appropriate given the difficult shared history between Germany and Israel," he said.