Israeli troops in Gaza fired at a convoy carrying the top three Palestinian security chiefs today as they were returning from talks with Israeli officials on ending months of violence.
Palestinians said the Israeli soldiers deliberately targeted the cars while an Israeli military official said the soldiers at the Erez border crossing thought shooting they could hear was coming from the convoy.
Two Palestinian bodyguards in the convoy were slightly injured by shrapnel and treated in hospital.
The incident occurred just after Israeli and Palestinian officials agreed at a late-night meeting that lasted more than four hours to work to reduce more than six months of bloodshed, the Israeli military official said.
Palestinian Public Security Chief Maj-Gen Abdel-Razek al-Majaydeh, Preventive Security Chief in the Gaza Strip Mohammed Dahlan and Intelligence Chief Amin al-Hindi - who had met their Israeli counterparts - were in the convoy.
Mr Al-Hindi told reporters: "It was a plotted attempt to assassinate the security chiefs."
Mr Majaydeh said: "It was a deliberate shooting at the car, a direct shooting at the car and we could have been killed."
The Israeli military official said the soldiers at the border post heard shooting, saw the cars driving by and thought the gunfire was coming from the convoy.
The official, who declined to be named, said the soldiers fired at the cars and hit them, only then realising they were diplomatic vehicles.
A gun battle between Israeli troops and Palestinians had erupted near the Erez crossing earlier in the evening, apparently the gunshots the Israeli troops heard when they opened fire on the convoy.