The Israeli Defense Force (IDF) said Tuesday that it was a soldier, not a settler, who stopped two Italian Carabinieri officials at gunpoint in the West Bank on Sunday in an incident that led Italy to summon the Israeli ambassador to Rome.
"A soldier spotted a vehicle heading to the community of Sde Ephraim along a route closed to civilian traffic and designated as a closed military zone,' the IDF said.
"The soldier classified the vehicle as suspicious.
Because the diplomatic license plate was not immediately identified, the soldier approached the vehicle to stop it, pointing his weapon without opening fire, and ordered the passengers to exit the vehicle and identify themselves.
"As soon as the passengers did so, the soldier immediately released them".
