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OUTRAGE AFTER ISRAELI OCCUPATION FORCES SHOOT LIVE ROUNDS AT FOREIGN
DIPLOMATS IN WEST BANK
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Brett Wilkins
May 21, 2025
Common Dreams
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_ Among those shot at were representatives of three nations that
threatened "concrete actions" if Israel doesn't end its assault and
siege on Gaza and others that support a genocide case against the
country. _
Members of a diplomatic delegation from the European Union walk near
the eastern entrance of Jenin refugee camp during a visit to the city
of Jenin, on May 21, 2025, and came under fire by the Israeli military
in what was described as ‘warning shots’, [Mohammad Mansour/AFP]
Israeli occupation forces fired what they called "warning shots" at a
large delegation of international diplomats visiting the besieged
Jenin refugee camp in the West Bank on Wednesday, an incident many
critics said was an attempt to intimidate countries that just two days
earlier issued an ultimatum to stop annihilating Gaza
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genocide case against Israel.
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Palestinian officials were briefing a group of more than 20 diplomats
about the crisis in the illegally occupied West Bank—where Israeli
soldiers and settlers have killed and wounded thousands of
Palestinians
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hundreds of children since October 2023 while pushing ahead
with massive land theft
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they came under fire.
According to [[link removed]] the
Israeli Foreign Ministry, the delegation "deviated" from the route
approved by Israeli occupation authorities "and entered an area where
they were not authorized to be," prompting Israel Defense Forces (IDF)
soldiers to fire "warning shots to distance them away."
"The IDF regrets the inconvenience caused," the ministry added.
Israeli media reported
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troops fired shots in the air. However, video footage
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appears to show soldiers aiming their guns and firing straight ahead
in the direction of the diplomats as they scrambled for cover. Israeli
officials have often
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caught lying
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the actions
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troops
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The delegation included diplomats from the European Union and
countries including Austria, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, Chile, China,
Egypt, France, India, Japan, Jordan, Lithuania, Mexico, Morocco,
Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Spain, Sri Lanka, Turkey, and the
United Kingdom.
On Monday, three of those countries—France, the United Kingdom, and
Canada—issued a rare joint statement condemning Operation Gideon's
Chariots
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the ongoing Israeli campaign to conquer and indefinitely occupy all of
Gaza and ethnically cleanse much of its population.
On Tuesday, the U.K. announced
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is suspending negotiations with Israel on a free trade agreement,
explaining that "it is not possible to advance discussions on a new,
upgraded FTA" with a government "that is pursuing egregious policies
in the West Bank and Gaza."
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Yoav Gallant, his former
defense minister, are wanted
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the International Criminal Court for alleged war crimes and crimes
against humanity in Gaza including extermination and forced
starvation.
The U.K. additionally sanctioned
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far-right Israeli extremists, including settler leader Daniella Weiss,
as well as three illegal settlement outposts and two groups "that have
supported, incited, and promoted violence against Palestinian
communities in the West Bank."
Also on Tuesday, European Commission Vice President Kaja Kallas—who
is the E.U.'s foreign policy chief—said
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27-nation bloc would review its political and economic agreement with
Israel in light of the "catastrophic" situation in Gaza.
Brazil, Chile, China, Egypt, Jordan, Mexico, Spain, and Turkey have
either joined or expressed support for the South Africa-led genocide
case
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Israel currently before the International Court of Justice—which
last year found
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Israel's 58-year occupation of the West Bank, including East
Jerusalem, and Gaza is an illegal form of apartheid that must be ended
as soon as possible.
Israel's 592-day assault and siege
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left more than 189,000 Palestinians dead, maimed, or missing and over
2 million others forcibly displaced, starved, or sickened, according
to the Gaza Health Ministry.
The Palestinian Authority Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemned
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Wednesday's "heinous crime" against the diplomats.
"The delegation was undertaking an official mission to observe and
assess the humanitarian situation and document the ongoing violations
perpetrated by the occupying forces against the Palestinian people,"
the ministry said. "This deliberate and unlawful act constitutes a
blatant and grave breach of international law and of the fundamental
principles of diplomatic relations as enshrined in the 1961 Vienna
Convention on Diplomatic Relations."
Kallas said
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that "any threats on diplomats' lives are unacceptable."
"Israel is also a signatory to the Vienna Convention, I mean the
obligation to guarantee the security of all foreign diplomats," Kallas
noted. "We definitely call on Israel to investigate this incident and
also hold accountable who are responsible for this."
The governments of other countries whose diplomats were targeted on
Wednesday condemned the incident, with some, including France and
Italy, summoning their Israeli ambassadors.
_Brett Wilkins is a staff writer for Common Dreams._
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