Today, near Jenin in the West Bank, the Israeli army fired shots in the direction of a registered diplomatic delegation including a German diplomat as well as a driver from the Representative Office in Ramallah. The Federal Foreign Office strongly condemns this unprovoked fire. We can count ourselves lucky that nothing more serious occurred.

The group was travelling in the West Bank in the course of its diplomatic work and in coordination with the Palestinian Authority and the Israeli army. The role of diplomats as independent observers on the ground is indispensable and in no way represents a threat to Israeli security interests.

The Israeli Government must immediately investigate the circumstances and respect the inviolability of diplomats. Foreign Minister Wadephul will convey the same message to his Israeli counterpart. Following the incident, he held a telephone call with the colleagues affected.