Israeli police entered a French-owned church compound in Jerusalem, briefly detaining two gendarmes and prompting French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot to abandon a scheduled visit, an AFP journalist reports.

Barrot said the standoff at the Eleona church compound in annexed east Jerusalem was “unacceptable”, with the foreign ministry in Paris later saying Israel’s ambassador would be summoned over the incident.

Israel’s foreign ministry maintained that the security protocol for the visit had been “clarified” in advance, and the police said the French gendarmes had not identified themselves and obstructed the Israeli force’s work.

The AFP journalist saw Israeli police surround the two French gendarmes, who were not in uniform, before pushing one of them to the ground. The gendarme identified himself and shouted “Don’t touch me” several times, according to the journalist.

Both gendarmes were then led into police cars before being released.

The Eleona compound, one of four French-owned sites that make up the French national domain in the Holy Land, “has not only belonged to France for more than 150 years, but France also ensures its security, maintains it”, Barrot said.