The Israeli Military Apologizes After Its Troops Fired At Foreign Diplomats

Israeli military illustration in Palestinian territory. (Source: IDF)

JAKARTA - Israel Defense Forces (IDF) apologized for its troops firing warning shots into the air as a group of foreign diplomats visited Jenin City in the West Bank, Palestine, Wednesday.

However, the IDF said the delegation group did not follow the agreed route when the visit was coordinated with the army.

"When coordinating entry (to Jenin), members of the delegation were given approved routes that they had to follow because the area was an active combat zone," the army said, quoted from The Times of Israel May 21.

According to the IDF, the international delegation group "obstructed routes and entered areas that were not permitted for them." The troops stationed there fired warning shots into the air, causing no damage or injury.

After realizing the group that reached the restricted area was a foreign diplomat, the IDF said the West Bank division commander, Brigadier General Yaki Dolf, immediately launched an investigation into the incident.

In addition, Brigadier General Hisham Ibrahim, head of Civil Administration ordered officers at the unit to immediately speak with representatives of the countries involved.

"He will soon hold private talks with diplomats to inform them of the findings of the initial investigation," the IDF said.

As previously reported, Palestine condemned the Israeli military's shooting at an international delegation near the entrance to the Jenin Refugee Camp on Wednesday.

Diplomatic delegations from a number of countries made visits to Jenin's Kegubernuran headquarters on Wednesday morning, continuing to review the situation in the city and camp.

Those in the delegation included Egyptian, Jordanian, Moroccan, European Union, Portugal, China, Austria, Brazil, Bulgaria, Turkey, Spain, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Turkey, Japan, Romania, Mexico, Sri Lanka, Canada, India, Chile, France, England and several representatives of other countries.

WAFA correspondents said the occupation soldiers stationed at Jenin's camp fired live and hard at the diplomatic delegation while they were in the vicinity of Jenin's Camp, to see the conditions of the camps and the sieges carried out on them.

He noted that when the delegation was near an iron gate where occupation forces were installed at the east entrance of the camp, the occupation army fired hard at the delegation and a group of journalists covering the visit.