Canadian diplomatic car hit by gunfire in the West Bank

A Canadian diplomatic car was hit by gunfire yesterday in an Israeli-controlled area in the West Bank but no one was hurt, a …

A Canadian diplomatic car was hit by gunfire yesterday in an Israeli-controlled area in the West Bank but no one was hurt, a diplomat said.

"One bullet hit the car in an Israeli controlled area near al-Ram and nobody was hurt," a diplomat at the Canadian representative office in the West Bank town of Ramallah said. The source of the gunfire was not clear. The Israeli army said it was not responsible.

The diplomat said Israeli police were investigating. At the time of the shooting only the driver was in the car, which has diplomatic licence plates but no Canadian flag on the outside.

Canada opened the Ramallah office in 1999, six years after the Palestinians and Israelis signed the historic Oslo peace agreement. It is not called an embassy because the Palestinian Authority has yet to declare an independent state. At least 400 people have been killed since late September.