Source: Ha'aretz
Nov 09, 2006
France - a nation that manifests one of the highest levels of antisemitism in Europe, and whose leaders are openly pro-Arab - told Israel that French members in the UNIFIL force in Lebanon came close to shooting down Israeli Air Force warplanes flying over Lebanon in late October.
On Thursday, Israel's envoy to Paris, Daniel Shek, was called in to the French Foreign Ministry, which demanded clarifications regarding the incident.
The post-July war UNIFIL force was supposed to have been made more "robust" in order to, militarily if necessary, ensure that the Hizb'allah not smuggle any more missiles into southern Lebanon.
Instead of carrying out that mandate, however, some of the UNIFIL members, including France, have demanded that Israel stop its planes from patrolling the skies over Lebanon.
French President Jacques Chirac has demonstrated a total lack of respect for Israel's sovereign rights and security needs on previous visits to the Jewish state.