Taoiseach Micheál Martin has said he will be "demanding answers" from Israel after Israeli troops fired on a European Union delegation that included two Irish diplomats visiting the occupied West Bank.
The Israel military had said it fired warning shots during foreign diplomats' visit to the town of Jenin, drawing condemnation as pressure mounted on Israel to allow aid into Gaza.
The two Irish diplomats caught up in the incident were the head of mission in the Irish Representative Office in Palestine along with the deputy head of the mission.
In a statement, the Taoiseach condemned the "aggressive and violent act", saying the international community will be "demanding answers" from Israel.
I am deeply shocked and horrified that the Israeli Defence Forces today opened fire on a group of diplomats visiting the town of Jenin. Thankfully, nobody was killed or injured. pic.twitter.com/Bz0iaIoOyu
— Micheál Martin (@MichealMartinTD) May 21, 2025
He said: "I am deeply shocked and horrified that the Israeli Defence Forces today opened fire on a group of diplomats visiting the town of Jenin. Thankfully, nobody was killed or injured.
"I unreservedly condemn this aggressive, intimidatory and violent act. This is not and must never be a normal way to behave.
"We, and the international community, will be demanding answers from Israel on exactly how this came to happen and will seek assurances that this will never happen again.
"Diplomats play a very important and vital role representing countries. They should be enabled to go about their work in an unimpeded manner and should never fear becoming targets."
Watch: IDF fires warning shots during diplomatic delegation visit to Jenin
Tánaiste Simon Harris has been in touch directly with Feilim McLaughlin, the Representative of Ireland to the Palestinian National Authority, to convey his full support and best wishes to him and his team who are based in Ramallah.
Separately, on the instructions of the Tánaiste, a senior official in the Department of Foreign Affairs has this evening delivered a démarche conveying the Tánaiste's strongest condemnation and concerns over the incident today to Ambassador Dana Erlich, Israel's non-resident ambassador to Ireland.
A démarche is a protest registered through diplomatic channels.
Concern was expressed for the safety of Irish personnel and the ambassador was informed that Ireland regards this incident to be a clear breach of obligations under international law with regards to the protection of diplomats under diplomatic law.
The ambassador was informed that what had happened should not be characterised as an "inconvenience" as it had been referred to by the IDF earlier today when it expressed regret for what had happened.
The ambassador was asked to register with Israeli authorities Ireland's fullest possible condemnation of the incident and that a full explanation of what had happened be provided.
Mr Harris has called for a full investigation and for those responsible to be held to account.
Watch: IDF soldiers responsible for firing near delegation must be 'held to account' - Harris
He said: "Our head of mission in Palestine and indeed his deputy were both present along with a number of diplomats from Europe and indeed from other parts of the world, visting the Jenin area, a routine visit, an important part of their work as diplomats.
"A visit that would have been alerted to the IDF in advance of it taking place and the idea that the Israeli Defence Forces would fire shots in their direction is utterly reprehensible, utterly unacceptable, requires a full investigation and will require accountability.
"We don't want mealy-mouthed apologies from Israel in relation to this, we want to know how it happened , a full investigation and those responsible held to account."
Mr Harris told a Fine Gael party meeting that Israel opening fire on diplomats was repugnant and he is calling for a full investigation and accountability.
Mr Harris said Irish diplomats will not be deterred from their work.
EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas urged Israel to hold accountable those responsible for the shooting near the city of Jenin, a stronghold of Palestinian armed groups and a frequent target of Israeli raids.
The Palestinian foreign ministry accused Israel of having "deliberately targeted by live fire an accredited diplomatic delegation".
The Israeli military claimed "the delegation deviated from the approved route", prompting troops to fire "warning shoots" to keep them away from "an area where they were not authorised to be".
In a statement, the Israeli military claimed that it "regrets the inconvenience caused" by the shooting, which resulted in no injuries.
The incident came as international pressure mounted on Israel over its war in Gaza, where Palestinians waited desperately for vital supplies after the partial easing of Israel's two-month total aid blockade.
Rescuers in the Palestinian territory, where Israel has recently intensified its devastating attacks, said overnight Israeli attacks killed at least 19 people, including a week-old baby.
France and Italy have said they will summon the Israeli ambassadors to their countries over the incident.
France's foreign minister Jean-Noel Barrot called the incident "unacceptable" and said the envoy would be called in "to offer an explanation".
Italy's foreign minister Antonio Tajani said that "threats against diplomats are unacceptable".
Germany has "strongly condemned" the shots fired by Israeli troops near the diplomats, which included one from Germany.
"The Israeli government must promptly investigate the circumstances," a foreign ministry spokeswoman said.
Egypt also said it condemned the firing of shots near the delegation, which included Cairo's ambassador to Ramallah, "in the strongest terms".
The Egyptian foreign ministry said the incident "violates all diplomatic norms" and "demanded the Israeli side provide the necessary explanations" over its circumstances.
Turkey said "this attack...endangered the lives of diplomats" and called for an investigation and accountability from Israel.
'Unbearable'
Israel claimed 93 trucks had entered Gaza yesterday but faced accusations the amount fell far short of what was required.
The United Nations said the aid had been held up.
The world body on Monday said it had been cleared to send in aid for the first time since Israel imposed a total blockade on 2 March leading to critical shortages of food and medicine.
Umm Talal al-Masri, 53, a displaced Palestinian living in an area of Gaza City, described the situation as "unbearable".
"No one is distributing anything to us. Everyone is waiting for aid, but we haven't received anything," she told AFP.
"We're grinding lentils and pasta to make some loaves of bread, and we barely manage to prepare one meal a day."
Israel has faced massive pressure, including from traditional allies, to halt its intensified attacks and allow aid into Gaza.
'Reckless act'
Several European countries were quick to condemn the shooting incident in the occupied West Bank, with Belgium demanding a "convincing explanation" and Italy saying that "threats against diplomats are unacceptable".
Ahmad al-Deek, political adviser for the Palestinian foreign ministry, said he had been leading the delegation.
"We condemn this reckless act by the Israeli army, especially at a time when it had given the diplomatic delegation an impression of the life the Palestinian people are living," he said.
A European diplomat present during the visit said he heard "repeated shots" coming from inside Jenin refugee camp, which has been largely emptied of its inhabitants since a major Israeli operation began in January.
"We were doing a visit with the governor of Jenin to the border of the camp to see the destruction," the diplomat said.
A video released by the Palestinian foreign ministry showed two men in Israeli army uniform pointing guns at a group of people from behind metal gates while shots ring out.
AFP was not immediately able to verify the video, but the journalist in Jenin said the footage appears to show the camp's eastern entrance.
The Israeli military, which in January launched major attacks in the Jenin area to stamp out militant groups, has recently installed metal gates as seen in the video at the entrances to the camp.
Since then, the Jenin refugee camp has emptied of its inhabitants and was occupied by Israeli troops.
The UN agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, said that by 31 March, the operation had displaced some 16,000 people in Jenin.
Additional reporting Mícheál Lehane
