TIPH

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A Temporary International Presence vehicle in Hebron's old town.

TIPH is the abbreviation for "Temporary International Presence in the City of Hebron" and describes the temporary international observer mission for Hebron. It was set up after the murder of 29 Palestinian residents of the city of Hebron by the Jewish settler Baruch Goldstein on February 25, 1994 by UN resolution 904. The TIPH observer force should promote stability in the city and ensure the restoration of normal life. This presence lasted with interruptions until January 31, 2019.

On January 28, 2019 announced Benjamin Netanyahu , the mandate on January 31, not rotational basis to extend and to thus expire after 22 years because he "wanted to have observers who are working against Israel", while drawing on two incidents from 2018 related.

founding

Representatives of the PLO and Israel signed an agreement with Italy , Switzerland , Sweden , Turkey , Denmark and Norway on March 31, 1994 , to provide support staff and observers for a temporary presence in the city. On May 8, 1994 the first observers of the TIPH were set up. But after the three-month mandate had expired, there was no extension. After the partial withdrawal of the Israeli army, a purely Norwegian team arrived on April 29, 1996. On February 1, 1997, the actual mission began. This was coordinated by the Norwegians, Denmark had since left. The mission was renewed every six months. The observers' reports were sent to the countries of origin, Israel and the Palestinian Authority . They weren't made public. Suitable persons - often police officers from the mission countries - were dispatched to the mission. A Swiss observer earned up to 140,000 francs a year. The strength was about 60 men and women.

tasks

The observers were allowed to document and report violations of the agreement on zones H1 and H2. For this purpose, foot and vehicle patrols were carried out. Active intervention was not planned. Their reputation was therefore not very good on either side. The abbreviation was therefore jokingly interpreted as "Two Impotents Patrolling Hebron" by the population.

The observer mission mainly operated in the part of the city that is under Israeli military control. 80 percent of Hebron is controlled by the PA.

criticism

Since the observers were mainly there to protect the Palestinian population from attacks by soldiers and settlers, there was no real neutrality. The relatives were in close contact with the Palestinian authorities and NGOs, which were also published on the website. There was no friendly relationship with the Jewish settlers in the city or the neighboring settlement of Kirjat Arba . Was criticized from this side z. For example, relatives often accompanied tours of NGOs who "unilaterally informed tourists about the problems of the Arab residents".

Incidents

In the course of the Second Intifada on March 25, 2002, the two members of the TIPH, Major Cengiz Soytunc from Turkey and civilian employee Katrine Brooks from Switzerland, were murdered by Palestinian snipers and a third injured. In the same year, two Norwegian observers fell victim to a Palestinian attack. The attackers believed that the unarmed victims were Israeli settlers.

In February 2006, TIPH observers temporarily fled Hebron after violent attacks by the Palestinians against TIPH facilities in Hebron in the wake of the cartoon dispute.

A TIPH report was made public for the first time to mark its 20th anniversary. It shows 40,000 incidents and that the situation for the Palestinians living in the H2 zone is getting worse and worse. A normal life for the Arab residents of the zone is no longer possible because of the numerous restrictions.

In July 2018 there were two incidents that were used as an opportunity to refuse a further extension of the mission by Israel. A Swiss legal advisor to the organization was expelled from the country after he hit a provocative 10-year-old settler child in the face during a tour of the NGO Breaking the Silence . Another relative slit the tires on a Jewish resident's car in 2017 and fled the country after it became known in the summer of 2018. Both incidents were videotaped. These "partisan, aggressive actions" resulted in Israel not renewing the observer mission effective January 31, 2019.

The End

After the incidents in July 2018, there was increased pressure from the settlers on the Israeli government to end the mission. In view of the upcoming parliamentary elections, the prime minister also refused to approve the mission extension. He announced this with a message on Twitter on January 28, 2019. The mission ended at the end of the month. A call by PLO General Secretary Saeb Erekat to the UN to guarantee the continuation of the mission, which is part of the Oslo Accords , was unsuccessful. A UN Security Council resolution that regretted Israel's decision was blocked by the US. The US State Department stated that the termination was an internal Israeli matter that did not violate the treaties with the Palestinians.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Israel to Expel International Monitoring Force in Hebron after 20-year presence , Ha-Aretz on January 28, 2019
  2. ↑ Schweizer Face Slap did a “very good job” , 20 minutes on July 18, 2018
  3. ↑ Mandate for observer mission in Hebron not extended. In: Israelnetz .de. January 29, 2019, accessed February 2, 2019 .
  4. ↑ Zinni Mission: One step forward, five steps back. In: Spiegel Online . March 27, 2002, accessed June 10, 2018 .
  5. ↑ Bloody incident in the Middle East: Norwegian UN observers killed. In: Spiegel Online . March 26, 2002, accessed June 10, 2018 .
  6. ^ Report Claims Israel Regularly Breaks International Law In Hebron , Ha-Aretz on December 17, 2018
  7. ↑ International observer suspected of slashing Hebron settler's tires , The Times of Israel on July 23, 2018
  8. ↑ Mandate for observer mission in Hebron not extended. In: Israelnetz .de. January 29, 2019, accessed February 2, 2019 .
  9. ↑ Police report: International observers involved in anti-Israel activities , Audiatur online on January 17, 2017
  10. ↑ Erekat Urges To Prevent Israel From Expelling International Monitoring Force From Hebron , Ha-Aretz on January 31, 2019
  11. ↑ US Blocks UN Resolution Denouncing Israeli Expulsion of Hebron Monitoring Group , Ha-Aretz on February 7, 2019
  12. ↑ US Says Expulsion of International Hebron Monitoring Force Is Israel's 'Internal Decision' , Ha-Aretz on February 8, 2019