Israeli forces opened fire with live ammunition towards an international diplomatic delegation visiting the Jenin refugee camp, on Wednesday, in the northern occupied West Bank.
The delegation, composed of 25 representatives and diplomats from the European Union, Canada, France, China, Russia, and several Arab nations, was on a humanitarian mission to assess the impact of ongoing Israeli military operations in Jenin.
Media sources said that ambassadors from Egypt, Jordan, Morocco, the European Union (EU), Portugal, China, Austria, Brazil, Bulgaria, Turkey, Spain, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Turkey, Japan, Romania, Mexico, Sri Lanka, Canada, India, Chile, France, and Britain were conducting a field tour of the destruction of the Jenin refugee camp on Wednesday morning.
Sources added that Israeli soldiers stationed in the Jenin refugee camp opened heavy fire towards the foreign delegates and a group of journalists near the iron gate at the eastern entrance to the camp; no injuries were reported.
For its part, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates denounced the army’s aggression against the foreign diplomats, calling it a flagrant and dangerous violation of the 1961 Vienna Convention, which guarantees protection and immunity for diplomatic missions and delegations.
In a statement, the occupation army said that “the mission deviated from its route and entered an area where it was prohibited. Soldiers in the area, unaware of the presence of a diplomatic mission nearby, fired into the air, not at the mission, with the aim of removing the suspects from the area. No damage or injuries occurred.”
In related news, Israeli forces stormed the eastern neighborhood of Jenin city, besieged a citizen’s home, invaded several others, and abducted two young men and detained others.
Media sources said a large army force stormed the eastern neighborhood on Wednesday morning, invaded and searched many homes, besieging the home of the citizen, Ghassan Al-Saadi, opening heavy fire, before storming and searching it.
Sources added that occupation abducted the citizens, Iyad Al-Azmi and Ghassan Al-Saadi while they were present in Al-Saadi’s cafe in the center of the city, in addition to detaining a number of young men in the eastern neighborhood.
The Israeli military claimed that the diplomats had entered an “unauthorized area” and that the shots were fired to “redirect them away from an active combat zone.”
However, Palestinian officials and international representatives condemned the action, calling it a violation of diplomatic norms and international law.
European Union High Representative Kaja Kallas issued a statement emphasizing that threats against diplomatic personnel are “unacceptable.”
Italy’s Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani summoned Israel’s ambassador in Rome to demand an official explanation, while Jordan’s Foreign Ministry denounced the warning shots as a “clear breach of humanitarian protections.”
The German Foreign Ministry has condemned the Israeli forces’ firing on a diplomatic delegation in Jenin.
In an official statement, the ministry confirmed that the delegation included a German diplomat and a driver from the Representative Office in Ramallah.
“The delegation was officially registered and conducting diplomatic activities in coordination with both the Palestinian Authority and the Israeli military,” the statement read.
The ministry called on the Israeli government to immediately clarify the circumstances surrounding the incident and to uphold the inviolability of diplomatic personnel.
Following widespread condemnation, the Israeli military “expressed regret” over the incident and said that it was conducting an internal review.
Jenin has been facing an ongoing Israeli military offensive for the past four months, leading to widespread destruction, displacement, and mounting humanitarian concerns.
Demolition attacks and infrastructure damage have severely impacted business districts, particularly in western neighborhoods, where economic collapse is nearly total. Initial estimates suggest the invasion has caused over $300 million in losses, leaving approximately 4,000 people in Jenin city and 2,000 in the camp without jobs.
Since the Israeli offensive in Jenin began on January 21, 40 Palestinians have been killed, with dozens more injured or taken into custody by Israeli forces.
Since October 7, 2023, Israeli soldiers and paramilitary colonizers have killed 981 Palestinians, including 199 children, 21 women, 15 elderly individuals, one journalist, and two medics, while injuring at least 7,000 others, including women and children, across the occupied West Bank.
