According to the Palestinian Authority (PA) and numerous other nations, a diplomatic delegation from the European Union, Arab, and Asian countries, were shot by Israelis while visiting the Jenin refugee camp in the occupied West Bank.
As the Israeli military’s fourth-month-long offensive there, which has resulted in deaths and displacement, enters its fourth month, the diplomats were on a diplomatic mission on Wednesday to assess the humanitarian situation there.
The delegation had deviated from a previously agreed route and entered an area it was not authorized to be in, according to the Israeli army’s soldiers who fired warning shots to get it out. No injuries were reported.
The Israeli Civil Administration’s commander in the West Bank told Israeli officers to meet with delegation representatives in a statement from the military, “and will soon hold personal conversations with the diplomats and update them on the findings of the initial investigation conducted on the matter.”
Because Al Jazeera has been barred from the West Bank and Israel, Hamdah Salhut, an Al Jazeera correspondent from Amman, Jordan, claimed the incident demonstrates how reality is at work and how anyone can be shot by Israelis in the occupied West Bank.
Tens of thousands of Palestinians have been forced to leave their homes as part of the ongoing military operations in Jenin, Tulkarem, and surrounding areas in the occupied West Bank, she continued, adding, “These places in the Palestinian territory have come under complete siege.”
When shots are heard ringing out very close to the group and forcing it to flee for safety, delegation members appear in videos on social media.
Two Israeli soldiers were also seen nearby with their rifles pointed at them, according to footage captured by Al Jazeera’s Sanad fact-checking agency.
The diplomatic delegation is conducting a field tour around the Jenin refugee camp to find out how much the suffering the residents of the area have endured. The occupation forces opened heavy fire from inside the camp.
قوات الاحتلال تطلق النار بشكل كثيف من… pic. https://twitter.com/qafjqQP0Sg
A humanitarian aid worker who spoke on condition of anonymity told The Associated Press that about 20 diplomats were being informed about the situation in Jenin at the time. No one was hurt, according to witnesses, and it’s not known where the shots came from.
The Israeli occupation forces intentionally targeted an accredited diplomatic delegation with live fire, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates in “the strongest possible terms.”
Ambassadors were summoned, calls for investigation, and condemnation.
Other governments in Europe and the Arab world called for responses in addition to their own condemnations.
The Foreign Ministry of Turkiye said the firing was “in the most emphatic terms” and that Turkey was “demanding an immediate investigation and accountability.”
The ministry said in a statement that this attack, which endangered diplomats’ lives, is yet another example of Israel’s ongoing disregard for international law and human rights, adding that a diplomat from its own consulate in Jerusalem was one of the delegation.
Jean-Noel Barrot, the French ambassador, announced that he would call the Israeli ambassador. In a letter to the ambassador, Barbrot wrote on X, calling the incident “unacceptable” and demanding an explanation.
Two Ramallah-based Irish diplomats, who are members of the group, are named in the statement by Ireland’s foreign affairs minister, Simon Harris, who described it as “shocked and appalled.” I vehemently condemn this and say that it is completely unacceptable.
Jose Manuel Albares, the ambassador to Israel, was summoned by Spain’s foreign minister in Madrid. We demand accountability and clarity, he continued.
The strongest pro-Palestine voices in the EU have been led by Spain and Ireland, who have called for the end of the Israeli occupation of Gaza and the suffering of the West Bank’s and enclave’s residents.
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s government demanded an explanation, claiming that its vice consul was one of the critics. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation will be contacted to explain the situation to Israel’s ambassador to Italy.
Kaja Kallas, the head of the EU’s foreign policy, said it was unacceptable to fire warning shots.
The occupation forces’ firing at a diplomatic delegation that included more than 25 Arab and European ambassadors were a clear violation of international and humanitarian laws and a crime against all diplomatic standards, according to Jordan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates.
Its statement posted on X read, “We call on the international community to assume its legal and moral responsibilities and compel Israel to stop its aggression against Gaza and its escalation in the West Bank.”
Since January, a significant Israeli military operation has focused primarily on Jenin, Tulkarem, and Nur Shams. Since then, Israeli forces have accelerated a process that is already taking place: forced mass displacement, home demolitions, and arrests of Palestinians.
Source: Aljazeera
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