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Israel and Lebanon want Germans to stay

BERLIN, April 17 (UPI) -- Lebanon and Israel apparently prefer Germany over Turkey to lead the UNIFIL naval force off Lebanon's coast.

Germany currently heads the U.N.-led naval force tasked with securing the Lebanese coast with two frigates, a supply ship and two speed boats, but the German mandate for the mission runs out at the end of August.

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German Defense Minister Franz Josef Jung, during a March trip to Ankara, received an offer from Turkey to take over the lead of the seven-nation force. But according to a media report, Israel and Lebanon are not eager to hand the lead over to Turkey.

Jerusalem and Beirut instead want to extend the Germans' stay by one year because of "reservations" against a Turkish lead, German news magazine Der Spiegel said. German Chancellor Angela Merkel was informed of these reservations during her recent Middle East trip, the news magazine said.

Merkel will very likely agree to the extension of the Bundeswehr mandate, Der Spiegel said.

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