Israeli forces fired warning shots on Wednesday as foreign diplomats visited the occupied West Bank, the military said, apologising for the incident after the Palestinian Authority accused troops of “deliberately” shooting at the delegation.
AFP footage from the scene of the incident in the West Bank city of Jenin — a frequent target of Israeli military raids — showed the delegation and accompanying journalists running for cover as shots are heard.
No injuries were reported in the incident, which drew prompt condemnation from Spain and Italy.
The Palestinian foreign ministry condemned “the heinous crime committed by the Israeli occupation forces, which deliberately targeted by live fire an accredited diplomatic delegation to the State of Palestine during a field visit”.
The Israeli military said in a statement that “the delegation deviated from the approved route and entered an area where they were not authorised to be.”
It said that “soldiers operating in the area fired warning shots to distance them away”, adding that it “regrets the inconvenience caused”.
An AFP journalist heard shots echo from the area of the Jenin refugee camp.
A video released by the Palestinian foreign ministry showed two men in Israeli army uniform pointing guns at a group of people from behind metal gates while shots ring out.
AFP was not immediately able to verify the video, but the journalist in Jenin said the footage appears to show the camp’s eastern entrance.
The Israeli military, which in January launched a major operation in the Jenin area to stamp out militant groups, has recently installed metal gates as seen in the video at the entrances to the camp.
A European diplomat present during the visit told AFP he heard “repeated shots” coming from inside Jenin refugee camp.
“We were doing a visit with the governor of Jenin to the border of the camp to see the destruction”, the diplomat said.
“It was the last part of the visit, and suddenly we heard shots coming from the camp. It was not like once or twice. It was like repeated shots. So at that moment, we just all started running back to the cars”, the diplomat added.
Ahmad al-Deek, political advisor for the Palestinian foreign ministry, told AFP he was leading the delegation.
“We condemn this reckless act by the Israeli army, especially at a time when it had given the diplomatic delegation an impression of the life the Palestinian people are living”, he said.
Since Israel launched its large-scale military operation in the northern West Bank, the Jenin refugee camp has emptied of its inhabitants and taken over by troops.
The UN agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, said that by March 31, the operation had displaced some 16,000 people in Jenin.
