CNN
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Israeli forces officially visited the occupied West Bank Jenin refugee camp on Wednesday, sparking rapid condemnation and fired warning shots with a large delegation of European and Arab diplomats.
According to the Palestinian authorities’ foreign ministry, delegations from more than 20 countries, including the UK, France, Canada and others, had an official mission to see the humanitarian situation in besieged camps.
Video from the incident shows Israeli soldiers fired at the delegation away from the gate blocking the road. You can hear at least four shots in the video. One member of the delegation warns the group that they “are near the wall and near the wall.”
“The Ministry has taken the Israeli occupying government fully and directly responsible for this criminal attack and confirms that such conduct will not pass without accountability,” the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement.
The Israeli Defence Force (IDF) said the camp visit – was the site of a major ongoing military operation that destroyed more than 100 buildings and affected thousands of families. The military began its initial investigation after it was revealed that the group was a diplomatic mandate.
“The delegation deviated from the approved route and entered areas where they were not permitted,” the military said in a statement Wednesday.
“IDF soldiers operating in the area have fired warning shots to keep them apart.”
The IDF reached out to the delegation over the findings of the initial investigation, saying it “remorse the inconvenience.”
Kaja Karas, a senior European Union diplomat official, said after the incident that “the threat to the lives of diplomats is unacceptable.”
“We definitely call on Israel to investigate this incident and hold it accountable for it,” Karas said at a press conference Wednesday.
Italian Foreign Ministry summoned the Israeli ambassador to Rome for official clarification. Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani called on Israel to “quickly clarify what happened” following a call with the Italian vice consul to Alessandro Tutino, Jerusalem, who was part of the Jenin delegation.
“The threat to the diplomat is unacceptable,” Tajani added in X’s social media post.
