Army personnel were not endangered by an Israeli missile which landed in the Irish Battalion area of south Lebanon in May, according to the Department of Defence.
Following a report in Jane's Defence Weekly, which described the incident as an anti-tank missile test, a Department of Defence spokesman said yesterday that the missile impacted at Majdal Silm on the night of May 17th. Another is believed to have landed within 800 metres of a Finnish army position.
The Fine Gael spokesman on peacekeeping, Mr Billy Timmins TD, said that the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr Andrews, should investigate the incident fully. "It is entirely unacceptable that the lives of UN personnel and citizens are being placed in danger in order [for Israel] to conduct guided missile tests."
A full investigation of the crater had not been possible, but following examination by Army personnel of the site and debris from the missile, it was believed that a wire-guided air-to-surface missile may have been fired from a helicopter or heavy ground weapon.
Similar incidents have occurred before in the area. They are investigated by UNIFIL officers and in some cases official complaints are made to the Israeli authorities. It is understood that no complaint was made about this incident at diplomatic level.