Israel expressed regrets and other nations demanded an explanation after Israeli troops fired warning shots intended to scatter a delegation of diplomats in the occupied West Bank, sending the group fleeing for cover. Video shows diplomats, who represented 31 countries, being interviewed in the city of Jenin on Wednesday when rapidly fired shots rang out nearby, the Guardian reports. No injuries were reported. The visit was organized by the Palestinian Authority to observe humanitarian conditions in the West Bank. The Israeli military later said it regretted "the inconvenience caused."
The gunfire exacerbated the tension between Israel and its foreign partners, per the New York Times. The Palestinian Authority said the group included representatives from the UK, Canada, France, China, Russia, and the European Union. Germany's Foreign Ministry called the shots "unprovoked shelling" and said it was only a matter of luck that "nothing worse had happened," per Politico Europe. Belgium demanded "convincing explanations from Israel," and France said it will summon the Israeli ambassador for answers. The EU's top diplomat said warning shots are "still shots."
Israel's military said the diplomats "deviated from the approved route and entered an area where they were not authorized to be," so troops fired the shots to drive them away, per the Times. The IDF said it will conduct an investigation and provide the diplomats with the findings. A major Israeli assault forced tens of thousands of Palestinians from their homes in Jenin in January, per the Guardian, one of the largest West Bank displacements in years. The EU had announced Tuesday that it plans to review its political and economic deal with Israel in light of the offensive in Gaza, per Politico. (More West Bank stories.)
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