West Bank: diplomats when visiting Israel.

Shots of Israeli forces towards a registered delegation of foreign diplomats in the occupied West Bank cause outrage in the European Union. The Federal Government asked the Israeli government to enlighten how this could happen: “The Federal Foreign Office sentenced this unprofitable fire. We can talk about luck that nothing worse has happened,” said a spokeswoman, according to a message.

The Palestinian Authority (PA) had previously announced that the Israeli army had fired shots near the delegation during the diplomat visit. The Foreign Ministry of PA condemned the incident in the city in the north of the West Bank. At first there were no reports on injuries. Israel’s military spoke after the incident of warning shots and announced an investigation.

There is also a refugee camp in the city – according to media reports, the foreign diplomats were in Dschenin to visit it and find out about the humanitarian situation on site. A German diplomat and a driver from the Ramallah representative office were also part of the delegation, the Federal Foreign Office said. The group was traveling in coordination with the Palestinian Authority and the Israeli army. According to the Belgian Foreign Minister Maxime Prévot, the delegation of around 20 diplomats was on the road in a convoy of around 20 clearly recognizable vehicles.

Israel’s military said that the delegation had deviated from a previously approved route to visit Dschenin and had entered an area in which they should not have stopped. Israeli soldiers had given warning shots to keep the group of people at a distance, it said.

After it turned out that it was the diplomats, the army initiated an investigation. It should be spoken to representatives of the countries affected by the incident. They should be informed about the results of the investigation. The army emphasized in the communication that the “inconveniences” arise.

The incident in Dschenin illustrates how dangerous the situation is in the West Bank occupied by Israel. She has been tense for a long time-since the Hamas massacre in Israel on October 7, 2023, she has exacerbated. Since then, according to the Ministry of Health, more than 900 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli military operations, armed clashes and attacks by extremists. At the same time, there is an increasing violence of radical Israeli settlers against Palestinian civilians.

Dschenin is considered a stronghold of militant Palestinians. Israel had started the largest military offensive against armed groups in January in January. According to un-information, tens of thousands of people had to leave their houses in the affected areas.

The EU foreign commissioner Kaja Kallas emphasized Israel to examine the incident and to be held accountable. “Any threat to life of diplomats is unacceptable,” she said.

The French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot described the action as “unacceptable” and announced the order of the Israeli ambassador in France. Similar reactions came from countries such as Italy, Spain and Belgium.

The Federal Foreign Office replied to the question of the German Press Agency whether, as in other countries, the Israeli ambassador had been ordered: “Foreign Minister WadePhul once called the Israeli Foreign Minister.”

The Foreign Ministry of the Palestinian Authority (PA) described the incident as a “blatant and serious violation of international law”.

The spokeswoman for the Federal Foreign Office emphasized: “The independent observer role of the diplomats on site is indispensable and in no way represents a threat to Israeli security interests.” The Israeli government must respect the inviolability of diplomats.