International pressure on Israel and the Netanyahu government is already at a historic high, even from Western allies which have been sanctioning hardline Israeli settler groups and individuals, and a new international incident has unfolded Wednesday in the West Bank.
“Israeli soldiers mistakenly fired warning shots at diplomats representing the European Union, UK, France, China, Russia and other countries on Wednesday,” Bloomberg writes.
An international group of diplomats and activists were visiting the West Bank town of Jenin when they reportedly came under gunfire from Israel Defense Forces.
Videos show the diplomatic group fleeing and running to their vehicles in a chaotic scene. Some of the vehicles appeared marked with flags of their respective countries.
The Palestinian Authority (PA), which governs the West Bank, issued a statement condemning Israel troops. The statement claimed the IDF “deliberately targeted by live fire an accredited diplomatic delegation.”
The IDF for its part, issued a statement alleging that while the diplomatic group was approved to be in the area, it departed from the ‘approved route’. The IDF did confirm that “warning shots” were fired.
“IDF soldiers operating in the area fired warning shots to distance them away,” the IDF said in the statement. “The IDF regrets the inconvenience caused.” The army said an investigation into the incident will follow.
Bloomberg lists that diplomats from the following were on the ground at the time: the EU, Portugal, Morocco, Brazil, Austria, Japan, Canada, India, Poland, Russia, Turkey, Romania, France, the UK, Mexico, China, Egypt and Jordan.
Hellbound and Down 