The US has said that Israel had “every right” to expel a UN monitoring force from the occupied West Bank city of Hebron (Al-Khalil).
US State Department spokesman Robert Palladino yesterday said that it was Israel’s right not to renew the mandate of the Temporary International Presence in Hebron (TIPH), a UN body which monitors the situation in Hebron in the occupied West Bank.
After Israel expels TIPH, an observer group that monitors human rights violations in the occupied West Bank city of Hebron, other rights groups fear that Israeli forces and settlers in the city will escalate their attacks on Palestinian residents. https://t.co/laIoYehmxy pic.twitter.com/na0RZIduSE
— US Campaign for Palestinian Rights (@USCPR_) February 7, 2019
TIPH’s mandate must be renewed every six months by Israel and the Palestinian Authority (PA) under the 1997 Interim Agreement, which was signed in the wake of the Oslo Accords.
Palladino told a US press briefing that:
“Regardless of whether one agrees or disagrees with the Israeli decision not to renew [TIPH’s mandate], it would be inaccurate to accuse Israel of not having the right to make this decision under the 1997 agreement. This is a sovereign decision and it’s the right of either party to make that agreement.”
US: Israel had the right to remove Hevron observers Arutz Sheva US State Department spokesman Robert Palladino said on Thursday that it was Israel's right to decide not to renew the mandate of the international observer … https://t.co/WAjKSermDY pic.twitter.com/TcbaUHUSCH
— Hurshal (@Hurshal) February 8, 2019
The spokesman was responding to questions on the US’ decision yesterday to block a proposed UN Security Council statement expressing regret over Israel’s decision to expel TIPH. Palladino did not waver in his position, saying again that the 1997 agreement “clearly states that the consent of both the Israelis and the Palestinians is required in order to extend the mandate and presence of the TIPH,” Arutz Sheva reported.
#US Vetoed UN Security Council’s Statement on #Israel Ending #TIPH https://t.co/OqfrcqEkSf via @PalestineChron pic.twitter.com/sKTngvGq7G
— Palestine Chronicle (@PalestineChron) February 7, 2019
The Security Council had convened at the request of Kuwait and Indonesia, which had called for a statement to be discussed which would condemn Israel’s unilateral withdrawal from the agreement and call for “calm and restraint” in Hebron. However, the US had quickly moved to block the discussion, in a move seen as yet another bid to protect its key ally Israel from condemnation and repercussions at the UN.
A number of countries have criticized Israel’s decision to expel TIPH, including Norway and Turkey. Fatah – the Palestinian faction which dominates the PA – also lambasted the move, saying that,
“The only explanation for the Israeli decision is that it plans to seize the [Hebron’s] Old City and the Ibrahimi Mosque”.
#Israeli Ambassador to UN: International Forces in #Hebron are ‘Hostile’ https://t.co/gCMjl2BpQj @PalestineChron pic.twitter.com/S42pusKTBg
— Palestine Chronicle (@PalestineChron) February 8, 2019
The PA also called on the UN to protect Palestinians in Hebron, saying the international body must “guarantee the safety and protection of the people of Palestine” until “the end of Israel’s belligerent occupation”.
(MEMO, PC, Social Media)
