France said on Friday it was still waiting for an official 'explanation' of why Israeli war planes flew over French UN troops in southern Lebanon, despite assurances from Israel it was not aggressive action.
The French forces came within seconds of firing at the planes when they overflew UN positions on October 31. Israel's ambassador to France Daniel Shek said on Thursday they were reconnaissance flights and had been "wrongly interpreted".
But on Friday a spokesman for the French foreign ministry, Jean-Baptiste Mattei, said this statement had been made only for the media and France still expected a proper explanation.
"We are now waiting to have an explanation through an official channel," Mattei said.
"This type of incident reinforces our determination that the Israeli overflights (in Lebanon) should cease," Mattei added on Friday.
He said France would discuss the matter with others involved in operations in Lebanon, including European countries and the United States, to persuade Israel to stop the overflights.
French officials earlier said Israeli military aircraft dived towards French troops serving with the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) who were within "two seconds" of firing back.
UNIFIL's French commander, General Alain Pellegrini, said in an interview to be published Saturday that the Israelis "had no confidence" in the international force and felt the need to monitor its activities both on the ground and at sea.
The overflights "are unacceptable" and a violation of UN resolution 1701 which brought an end to the Lebanon conflict, Pellegrini told French daily Le Figaro in comments that were published in advance on-line.
The French troops in Lebanon are part of a UN-led peacekeeping force securing the south of the country after a bloody month of air strikes by the Israeli military earlier this year aimed at crushing Hizbullah militants, and rocket attacks on Israel by the Shiite group.