International community condemns Israel's shooting of diplomatic convoy near Jenin

A wave of international condemnation has followed an incident in which Israeli soldiers opened fire on a convoy of foreign diplomats near the West Bank city of Jenin, calling for international accountability and demanding explanations from Israel.

The Turkish Foreign Ministry issued a statement strongly condemning what it described as a “grave attack” that endangered the lives of diplomats, including a member of the Turkish Consulate General in Jerusalem, Caliber.Az reports. 

“This attack, which endangered the lives of diplomats, is yet another demonstration of Israel’s systematic disregard for international law and human rights,” the ministry said. “The targeting of diplomats constitutes a grave threat not only to individual safety but also to the mutual respect and trust that form the foundation of inter-state relations.”

Ankara called for an immediate investigation and urged the international community to condemn the attack “in the strongest possible terms” while demanding concrete action to end Israel’s “impunity.”

In a similar vein, France also expressed outrage, with Minister of Europe and Foreign Affairs Jean-Noël Barrot confirming that a French diplomat was among those targeted during the visit to Jenin.

"A visit to Jenin, in which one of our diplomats was participating, was fired upon by Israeli soldiers. This is unacceptable. The Israeli ambassador will be summoned to explain. Full support to our agents on site and their remarkable work in trying conditions," he wrote on X. 

Similarly, the German Federal Foreign Office condemned the incident, stating that a German diplomat and a driver from the Representative Office in Ramallah were part of the convoy fired upon.

“The Federal Foreign Office strongly condemns this unprovoked fire. We can count ourselves lucky that nothing more serious occurred,” the statement reads.

Berlin emphasised that the diplomatic group had coordinated the visit with both the Palestinian Authority and the Israeli army. The spokesperson stressed that the role of diplomats as independent observers “in no way represents a threat to Israeli security interests.”

“The Israeli Government must immediately investigate the circumstances and respect the inviolability of diplomats,” the spokesperson said. 

The segmented also informed that German Foreign Minister Carsten Wadephul held a phone call with the diplomats affected and pledged to raise the issue directly with his Israeli counterpart.

Israeli forces opened fire to intimidate a foreign diplomatic delegation on its arrival at an entrance to the Jenin refugee camp in the West Bank, a Palestinian official told Anadolu on May 21.

The delegation included diplomats from Egypt, Jordan, Morocco, the EU, Portugal, China, Austria, Brazil, Bulgaria, Türkiye, Spain, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Japan, Romania, Mexico, Sri Lanka, Canada, India, Chile, France, and the UK, along with representatives from several other countries.

The Israeli army confirmed that its forces fired warning shots at the delegation, claiming that it had deviated from a pre-approved route in an active combat zone.

By Sabina Mammadli