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Arab countries have condemned the Israeli army’s gunfire during a visit by a delegation of foreign diplomats to Jenin city in the northern West Bank, calling for international accountability and demanding explanations from Israel.

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

The Israeli military, in a breach of diplomatic norms, opened fire as the delegation of 35 ambassadors, consuls, and diplomats approached the camp, which has been under siege since Jan. 21, said Ahmed al-Deek, an assistant to the Palestinian foreign minister.

Deek, accompanying the group, said the shooting aimed to frighten the delegation and prevent their entry into the camp.

Saudi Arabia decried the attack, calling on “the international community -- particularly the permanent members of the UN Security Council -- to immediately put an end to Israeli violations against civilians, diplomatic missions, and humanitarian organizations operating in the occupied Palestinian territories,” according to the Saudi Foreign Ministry.

It also reiterated its call for the “activation of international accountability mechanisms for the ongoing crimes of the Israeli occupation and its repeated violations of international law and international humanitarian law.”

Qatar’s Foreign Ministry said the country condemns the Israeli army’s shooting at a visiting international diplomatic delegation in Jenin, describing it as a “violation of international laws, conventions, and diplomatic norms.”

It called on the international community “to take up its moral and legal responsibilities, address Israel's violations and breaches of international law, and compel Israel to uphold the 1961 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, which guarantees immunities for diplomatic missions.”

“Egypt strongly condemns the incident that took place during a visit by several heads of diplomatic missions from various countries to the city of Jenin, including the Egyptian ambassador,” the Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

The ministry said the incident violated all diplomatic norms and principles, calling on Israel to “provide the necessary clarifications regarding the circumstances of the incident.”

Jordan’s Foreign Ministry called the incident “a blatant violation of international law and humanitarian law, and a crime against diplomatic norms.”

It also called on the international community to “assume its legal and moral responsibilities and compel Israel to immediately halt its aggression on Gaza and its dangerous escalation in the occupied West Bank.”

Vice President of Palestine Hussein al-Sheikh said on X: “We call on the international community to curb this brutal eruption of the occupation forces in the Palestinian territories.

According to the official Palestinian news agency Wafa, the delegation had 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 Palestinian Foreign Ministry organized the visit for diplomats to witness Israel’s ongoing military assault, following a similar visit to Tulkarem in the northern West Bank last week.

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.

At least 969 Palestinians have been killed and more than 7,000 injured in attacks by the Israeli army and illegal settlers in the occupied West Bank since the start of the Gaza war in October 2023, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry.​​​​​​��

The International Court of Justice declared Israel's decades-long occupation of Palestinian land illegal last July and demanded the evacuation of all settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.