Austrians affected by the Israeli shelling in West Bank – Diepresse.com
Israel’s military has admitted to shot at a delegation of diplomats in West Bank. As a reason, it was said on Wednesday that the column had deviated from the approved route.
Shots of Israeli forces in the direction of a delegation of foreign diplomats in the occupied West Bank in the European Union for outrage. According to the Vienna Foreign Ministry (Bmeia) was also affected by an Austrian diplomat. The head of representation in Ramallah, Marian Wrba, is doing well, it said on Wednesday when asked by APA. Foreign Minister Beate Meinl-Reisinger said on « X »: « I am very relieved that nothing happened to him. »
« I talked to our Austrian representative on site, » said Meinl-Reisinger. In addition, the NEOS Foreign Minister stated: « It is completely clear: Something like this must not happen, which is why we assume that the incident is also informed by the Israeli authorities. »
The Ramallah representative office represents Austria in the Palestinian autonomous areas. It was set up in 1998 and coordinated, among other things, the Austrian development cooperation (Austrian Development Agency/ADA). The city of Ramallah, located in the West Bank, is a political, economic and cultural center of the Palestinian areas of autonomous.
Delegation with 20 diplomats from EU and UN
According to the information available so far, the Israeli army had previously fired shots near the delegation when visiting around 20 diplomats in the city of Jenin. In the delegation there were delegates from several EU countries, including Austria and Belgium, Germany, France, Italy or Spain.
There is also a refugee camp in the city. According to media reports, the foreign diplomats wanted to visit the camp in order to find out about the humanitarian situation on site.
Israel: Diplomat convoy deviated from route
Israel’s military said that the delegation had deviated from a previously approved route to visit Jenin and entered an area in which they should not have been. Israeli soldiers had given warning shots to keep the group at a distance, it said. After it turned out that it was the diplomats, the army initiated an investigation.
It should also be spoken to the representatives of the countries affected by the incident. They should be informed about the results of the investigation. The army emphasized in the message to regret the inconvenience.
No injuries or damage reported
Injured or damage was not reported. The incident occurred during one of the Palestinian Authority (Pa) Organized visit to international diplomats in the area. As several media reported, the delegation was in Jenin to visit the refugee camp there and to find out about the humanitarian situation on site. The PA Foreign Ministry described the incident as a « blatant and serious violation of international law ».
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This frame made of AFPTV material shows members of a diplomatic delegation from the EU who react to shots when they gather at the eastern entrance of the Jenin warehouse. Mohammad Ateeq
EU external representative Kallas is forced to investigate the incident
In a first reaction, the EU foreign commissioner Kaja Kallas emphasized Israel to examine the incident and to be held accountable. « Any threat to life of diplomats is unacceptable, » she said.
The French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot described the action as « unacceptable » and announced the order of the Israeli ambassador in France. The Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs said: « We are in contact with other affected countries in order to react to what has happened together that we judge the toughest. »
UN speaker: « Inacceptable »
The United Nations condemned the shots as « unacceptable ». « These diplomats, including UN employees, were shot at. Whether with warning shots or whatever-that’s unacceptable, » said the spokesman for UN Secretary-General António Guterres, Stéphane Dujarric, ahead of journalists on Wednesday. « It is clear that diplomats that pursue their work should never be shot at or attacked in any form, » said Dujarric. He asked the Israeli authorities to investigate the incident thoroughly. It must be ensured that « no further incident occurs ».
Belgium: Delegation vehicles were clearly recognizable
According to the Belgian Foreign Minister Maxime Prévot, the delegation was on an official visit to the city, which was coordinated with the Israeli army. They were therefore on the move in a convoy of about twenty clearly recognizable vehicles.
From Berlin it was said: « The Federal Foreign Office is sharply sentenced to this unprofitable shelling. We can talk about luck that nothing worse has happened. » The Israeli government must immediately clarify the circumstances and respect the inviolability of diplomats.
Extremely tense situation in the West Bank
The incident in Jenin illustrates how dangerous the situation is in the West Bank occupied by Israel. She has been tense for a long time – since the Hamas massacre in Israel on October 7, 2023, she has exacerbated. Since then, according to the Ministry of Health, more than 900 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli military operations, armed clashes and attacks by extremists. At the same time, there is an increasing violence of radical Israeli settlers against Palestinian civilians.
Jenin is considered a stronghold of militant Palestinians. Israel had started the largest military offensive against armed groups in January in January. According to UN, tens of thousands of people had to leave their houses in the affected areas. (APA)
