Israeli Soldiers Fire Warning Shots At Foreign Diplomats In Jenin, Italy Summons Envoy

<p>The Israeli soldiers on Wednesday mistakenly fired warning shots at the diplomats representing the European Union, the UK, China, Russia and other countries. According to Bloomberg, the diplomats &ndash; none of them were hurt &ndash; were visiting the West Bank town of Jenin and, according to the Israel Defence Forces, deviated from an approved route. It described the area as an active combat zone.</p>
<p>&ldquo;IDF soldiers operating in the area fired warning shots to distance them away,&rdquo; the IDF said in a statement. &ldquo;The IDF regrets the inconvenience caused.&rdquo;</p>
<p>The foreign minister of Italy summoned the Israeli ambassador to clarify what happened.</p>
<p>&ldquo;I heard about the incident in Jenin today where Israel&rsquo;s defence forces shot warning shots, but still shots, at a group of diplomats approaching the refugee camp, within the visit organized by the Palestinian Authority,&rdquo; the EU&rsquo;s top diplomat, Kaja Kallas, said to reporters as quoted by Bloomberg.</p>
<p>&nbsp;&ldquo;We definitely call on Israel to investigate this incident and also hold those accountable who are responsible for this,&rdquo; he added further.</p>
<p>The visit organised to assess the humanitarian situation in Jenin was reportedly coordinated with the Israeli military in advance. The IDF, however, claimed later that the delegation had deviated from the approved route. Soldiers stationed there fired into the air to deter what they initially perceived as an unauthorised entry, reports Times Of India.</p>
<p>&ldquo;When coordinating the entry [to Jenin], members of the delegation were provided an approved route that they were instructed to follow due to the area being an active combat zone,&rdquo; the army said as quoted by TOI.</p>
<p>The recent incident comes amid growing international pressure on Israel over its ongoing military operations in Gaza. The airstrikes in Gaza continued across the enclave on Wednesday, according to TOI quoting the Gaza health ministry, and killed at least 82 people, including women and children.</p>