Israeli troops have fired shots near to a group of international diplomats that were visiting the town of Jenin on the West Bank. The incident has been reported by several Israeli and Arab news outlets. The daily ‘De Morgen’ reported that a Belgian diplomat was among the group and this has since been confirmed by the Belgian Foreign Minister Maxime Prévot (Francophone centrist). The Israeli Army has apologised for the incident, but says that the diplomats had ventured off the agreed route.
Israeli soldiers fire shots near to diplomatic delegation that included 1 Belgian
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The incident happened in Jenin, a town on the occupied West Bank. A delegation of diplomats from more than 25 countries was being given a tour to assess the situation in the local refugee camp.
Video footage shows Israeli soldiers firing shots near to the delegation. The Arab press agency Wafa says that the soldiers fired at the diplomats, while ‘The Times of Israel’ writes that the shots were warning shots fired into the air. The delegation fled the scene quickly.
The daily ‘De Morgen’ reports that a Belgian was among the diplomats visiting Jenin. This has also been confirmed by the Belgian Foreign Minister Maxime Prévot (Francophone centrist). "Writing on the social media platform X, Mr Prévot said “Fortunately he is ok. Belgium is asking Israel to provide a convincing explanation”.
Apology from the Israeli Defence Force
The Israeli Defence Force (IDF) acknowledges that the incident occurred and has apologised. The Israeli army says that the group had ventured from a route that had been agreed in advance.
"Upon their entry, the members of the delegation were given an approved route to follow as the area is an active combat zone," the Israeli army writes."
"When soldiers on patrol saw that the group was no longer following the route, they reportedly fired warning shots, with no intent of injuring anyone".