Canada said Wednesday it is summoning Israel’s ambassador after the Israeli Defence Forces fired shots in the vicinity of a diplomatic delegation in the West Bank that included four Canadians.
The IDF says no one was injured in the incident.
“Relieved to know our team is safe,” Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand said in a post on X.
“I have asked my officials to summon Israel’s Ambassador to convey Canada’s serious concerns. We expect a full investigation and accountability.”
Prime Minister Mark Carney said the incident was “totally unacceptable.”
“It’s some of many things that are totally unacceptable that’s going on in the region,” he told reporters in Chelsea, Que. after a cabinet planning forum.
In a statement, an IDF spokesperson said the diplomatic group touring the city of Jenin “deviated” from its approved route and soldiers fired warning shots to get it to move away from an area they were not permitted to visit.
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The IDF said it launched an inquiry into what happened and will speak with the affected diplomats to update them on its findings.
Jean-Noël Barrot, France’s foreign minister, said in a social media post the situation is unacceptable and Israel’s ambassador to France has been summoned to explain it.
Italian Foreign Affairs Minister Antonio Tajani said he is also calling on the Israeli ambassador in Italy to explain the incident.
In a joint statement issued earlier this week, Prime Minister Mark Carney, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron threatened to impose “targeted sanctions” on Israel in response to its renewed military offensive in Gaza and the “wholly inadequate” amount of food aid allowed into the enclave.
The letter also stated the leaders’ opposition to “any attempt” to expand Israeli settlement in the West Bank.
Carney on Wednesday would not say what “concrete action” Canada would take if Israel ignores the leaders’ request, but suggested any measures would be part of a joint response with France and Britain.
“The intention of the clear language — not just of ourselves, but France, the United Kingdom and many other countries — is that Israel ensures that adequate humanitarian aid gets to the population there, many of whom are on the brink of starvation,” he said.
Carney added he informed U.S. Vice-President JD Vance during their meeting in Rome last weekend that the joint statement was coming, but said it was a “one-way conversation.”
The Trump administration has directed U.S. policy to staunchly support Israel in its military aims against Hamas, while also pushing for a ceasefire and the return of all hostages taken in the Oct. 7, 2023 attack that ignited the current conflict.
In a social media post late Monday evening, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused Carney, Starmer and Macron of “offering a huge prize” to Hamas with their joint statement.
Hamas, which is listed as a terrorist entity in Canada, welcomed the letter in an online statement Tuesday, calling it “a significant step in the right direction.”
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre said on X this week that Hamas’ statement shows Canada must take the opposite of its current approach to the conflict.
“Threatening Israel with sanctions and ‘further concrete actions’ while a terrorist group on their borders holds their citizens hostage and refuses to stop attacking Israel is wrong,” he said.
On Tuesday, the U.K. issued sanctions against what it called three individuals, two “illegal settler outposts” and two organizations “supporting violence against Palestinian communities” in the West Bank.
Canada has sanctioned people and individuals for extremist settler violence against Palestinians in the West Bank in the past. The most recent round of sanctions was announced in September of last year.
—With files from the Canadian Press
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