France Summons Israeli Ambassador Over Convoy Attack

French Diplomats Were Blocked at Gaza Border for Hours, Shot at by Troops

by Jason Ditz, January 28, 2009

The French Foreign Ministry summoned Israeli ambassador Daniel Shek today over an incident in which a convoy of French diplomats, including the nation’s consul general were blocked from crossing the Gaza border for over six hours and shot at by Israeli troops.

The foreign ministry said of the meeting that “it was clearly stated that we protest this unacceptable incident.” The convoy was sent to the Gaza Strip yesterday to assess the situation on the ground and report on the status of French aid projects in the area. Diplomats from the Netherlands, Switzerland, Norway, Germany and Sweden were also part of the convoy.

Israeli foreign ministry spokesman Yossi Levy said the incident was not directed at the French consul general in particular, and that all the border crossings were closed because of yesterday’s bombing incident. No explanation was provided for why troops felt the need to fire multiple “warning shots” at a diplomatic convoy.

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