RAMALLAH, Tuesday, January 29, 2019 (WAFA) - The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates condemned the Israeli government’s decision to end the presence of the Temporary International Presence in Hebron (TIPH).
Following is the statement issued by the ministry:
The Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemns the Israeli government’s decision to end the presence of the Temporary International Presence in Hebron (TIPH). The announcement aims to dismantle international presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory to cover-up the grave, systematic, and escalating violations committed by the illegal Israeli colonial occupation and terrorist settler groups on daily basis against the Palestinian citizens in Al-Khaleel (Hebron) as well as to strip them of any protection. Moreover, the State of Palestine considers this decision a violation of UN resolutions and signed agreements as well as a blatant attempt to continue dismantling all foundations of a peaceful solution.
The TIPH was established following the criminal massacre committed by an Israeli settler in Al-Khaleel (Hebron), and in response to the needs of the Palestinians for security and protection throughout the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and particularly in Al-Khaleel (Hebron) and in accordance with Security Council resolution 904 (1994), which called for measures to be taken to guarantee the safety and protection of Palestinian civilians. TIPH in its present form is the result of the Al-Khaleel (Hebron) Protocol, which called on Denmark, Norway, Italy, Sweden, Switzerland and Turkey to provide observers for the mission in Al-Khaleel (Hebron), with Norway as the coordinator and has been active on the City since 1 February 1997. The mission is funded entirely through the five contributing countries. The agreement on TIPH outlines the tasks and mandate of the mission and is renewed every six months.
Israeli settlers in Al-Khaleel (Hebron) and across the occupied territory of the State of Palestine have carried out thousands of terrorist attacks against Palestinian civilians, their home, farms, shops and livelihoods. Such attacks by settlers against Palestinian civilians continue with total impunity and without redress.
In addition to the wave of Israeli
settler terrorism, the Palestinian people continue to face the deliberate and
systematic killing and injuring of Palestinian civilians, including systematic
the targeting of children. Israel, the occupying Power, continues to carry on
with its abuses and violations against the Palestinian people, including
children, defying international and human rights law and in spite of warnings
from the international community, including the recent report of the Secretary-General
on children and armed conflict.
We therefore reiterate our call for international protection for the Palestinian people. International humanitarian law and the commitments undertaken for the protection of civilians in situations of armed conflict, including children and women, must be upheld as a matter of urgency in the State of Palestine, where civilian lives are under constant threat by the occupying Power.
We again call on the international community, in particular the Security Council, to act immediately to end Israel‘s impunity and resolve this conflict, which clearly constitutes a threat to international peace and security. The Security Council thus cannot abdicate its responsibilities and must act urgently to avert further destabilization of the situation, with its far-reaching consequences for regional and international security as well as the prospects of a just, lasting and comprehensive peace in accordance with international law, relevant United Nations resolutions and the Arab Peace Initiative.
T.R.
