Israel’s ambassador to Canada suggests that there might have been a deliberate effort to provoke Israeli soldiers before they fired warning shots in the vicinity of a diplomatic delegation — which included Canadians — in the West Bank on Wednesday.
Four members of a Canadian delegation were part of a tour in the city of Jenin when members of the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) fired warning shots in the area. Two are Canadian citizens, including Ottawa’s top diplomat in the West Bank, and two are locally hired staff. No one was injured during the incident.
Israel’s Ambassador Iddo Moed suggested during an interview with CBC News Network’s Power & Politics that the diplomats may have been led astray to intentionally try to provoke the IDF soldiers.
“They went into the soldiers. There was nothing to see. There was a barrier, a very clear barrier. So what was the idea to walk into that barrier unless you want to try and provoke something,” Moed told guest-host Peter Armstrong, referencing to videos of the incident
“Maybe they were led there. I don’t know, I don’t want to speculate.”
Israeli PM tells Canada, France, U.K. ‘you’re on the wrong side of history’
A video of the incident circulating online shows members of the tour group speaking to cameras near a large yellow gate. Gunshots can be heard as the group hurries away from the gate and goes around a street corner. In one video, two soldiers can be seen pointing guns in the direction of the group.
The IDF said Wednesday that an initial investigation into the incident revealed that the delegation had deviated from an approved route and soldiers fired warning shots to get the delegation to move. The Palestinian Authority said the incident took place near the gate of a refugee camp after the delegation encountered another barrier at a different entrance.
When pressed about the suggestion that the tour might have provoked Israeli soldiers, Moed again referred to videos of the incident.
“You can see they really made an effort to confront the soldiers,” Moed said. The ambassador added that there will be an investigation and that the government will take responsibility if any wrongdoing is uncovered.
Prime Minister Carney reacts to IDF firing shots near Canadian diplomats
Prime Minister Mark Carney called for a full investigation into the incident on Wednesday evening.
“We expect a full investigation and we expect an immediate explanation of what happened. It’s totally unacceptable,” Carney said during a news conference.
Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand issued a summons to Moed on Wednesday so that the government could relay Canada’s “serious concerns.” The foreign ministers of France and Italy also issued summons to their respective Israeli ambassadors regarding the incident.
But Moed suggested that the formal summons was unnecessary because the Israeli government has been forthcoming with those countries about what happened.
“We have taken responsibility for the investigation, for dealing with the diplomats and with governments that want to have that information. But there is no need to formally request [that information] as if things like that are not happening naturally,” Moed said.
A senior Canadian government official told CBC news that members of the Canadian delegation were shaken up by the incident and were being offered support from Global Affairs Canada.
Wednesday’s incident comes at a tense moment in Canadian-Israeli relations.
Earlier this week, Carney joined British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron in threatening to impose sanctions on Israel in response to its “denial of essential humanitarian assistance” in Gaza.
In a video statement released Thursday condemning Wednesday’s shooting of two Israeli embassy staff members in Washington, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called out Carney, Starmer and Macron for their Gaza statement, accusing them of “emboldening Hamas.”
“You’re on the wrong side of humanity and you’re on the wrong side of history,” Netanyahu said of the three leaders.
