Germans Face Dilemma as Israel Warms to UN Peace Force

The violence in the Middle East shows no sigh of abating as Israeli troops engage Hezbollah militia over the border in Southern Lebanon while the guerrillas send more Katjuscha rockets in the opposition direction into towns and villages in Northern Israel.

While the fighting rages, diplomats from around the world shuttle between nations in the region, tying to broker a peace deal or, at the very least, a ceasefire. Italy's Prime Minister Romano Prodi and French Foreign Secretary Philippe Douste-Blazy are in the Middle East meeting Arab and Israeli leaders, as is US Secretary of States Condoleezza Rice.

Germany's Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier completed his own diplomatic mission this weekend. But while Germany is among those countries calling for a cessation in the violence and one of those within the United Nations in favor of a multinational peace-keeping force in Lebanon, Steinmeier's job takes on uniquely problematic dimensions when Germany is called to mediate in the Middle East.

Initially, Steinmeier's visit appears to have planted tentative seeds of success. Through his discussions with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, Israel's negative stance towards a UN peace-keeping force has softened. Whereas before, Olmert was against any multinational force in Lebanon, he now feels such a presence can contribute to the solution of the conflict.

"We are at the beginning of a discussion but a mission if far from certain as yet," Steinmeier said at the weekend. "The question is whether such a mission should be used to strengthen the Lebanese army, whether (the force) should have a predominantly border control role or if it should take on other tasks in the region."

Israeli PM wants EU troops

However, the Israeli prime minister has other questions, particularly how such a force would be set up and how it would work. Olmert believes it should be made up primarily of troops from the European Union as part of a robust mandate from the United Nations. This would mean that Germany would be called upon to provide troops, a situation that Steinmeier said was problematic.

"The participation of Germany is a particularly sensitive discussion," the foreign minister said. "The difficult common history between Germany and Israel always comes into it."

Chancellor Angela Merkel is being just as cagey about the possible deployment of German troops in the Middle East. She has made it clear that the most important factor in resolving the crisis is to first stop the violence. An international force would not be put in place to come between the two warring factions while hostilities are still red-hot. Merkel believes the force's primary mission would be to strengthen the hand of the Lebanese government in dealing with the Hezbollah militia on its southern border.

"We must give the Lebanese government help," Merkel said. "And we will talk about what kind of contribution we must perform to do this. But for us to enter the conflict at this moment is not a subject we can talk about at this time."

Merkel first offers aid

The form of a German contribution may not initially be a military presence. Foreign ministry spokesman Martin Jäger told the media that the government is considering allocating more aid money to ease the plight of civilians caught up in what the UN has described as a "humanitarian catastrophe waiting to happen.

"The German government has so far allocated 2 million euros for immediate humanitarian aid in southern Lebanon," Jäger said. "And we are in close contact with NGOs on the ground to coordinate our relief efforts."

While this would be a start, with growing calls for an international force to be put in place within the next week, Germany may find itself making a tough decision on deployment in the coming days.

Bundestag divisions over deployment

Discussions on a deployment in the Bundestag have so far been heated. Gregor Gysi, the floor leader of the opposition Left Party in the national parliament, categorically rejected the idea of any German troops participating in a Middle East stabilization force. He said that would be totally impossible against the background of the Holocaust when millions of Jews died at the hands of German perpetrators under Nazi rule.

Gysi told reporters that German participation in a peace-enforcing mission was unthinkable, no matter whether it was UN-mandated or not. But several MPs from the ruling Christian and Social Democrats have indicated that they'd have fewer qualms about making German soldiers part of such a mission as long as Israel itself gave its backing for such a move.

Diplomats, spies brokering deal

Meanwhile, the German focus remains on ceasefire before any troops go in. Gernot Erler, a state minister in the Foreign Office, revealed this weekend that diplomatic teams and secret service personnel were in the Middle East attempting to broker a prisoner exchange deal between the warring partners in a bid to get the fighting to stop.

"We have so-called 'sounding out' teams consisting of regional specialists holding discussions in Damascus and Beirut, and also with the United Nations at the moment," Erler said. "There seems to be movement, a possibility, in the area of prisoner exchange. There is now interesting news from Hezbollah that they would be prepared to begin negotiations. The 'sounding out' teams are attempting to pave the way for this."

A ceasefire brought about by a mutual prisoner exchange would allow the multinational force to enter Lebanon to keep the peace, not stop the war. This in turn would decrease the distasteful possibility of German troops being called upon to fight in the Middle East. However, the weight of history will be felt on any decision to deploy the Bundeswehr on Israel's borders.