The US blocked a draft United Nations Security Council statement yesterday from issuing a statement that would have expressed concerns over Israel’s decision to expel the international observatory task force that has been monitoring the situation in the occupied West Bank city of Hebron for 20 years.
The 15-member UN Security Council discussed Israel’s decision behind closed doors at the request of Kuwait and Indonesia, which also drafted the statement. Such a statement has to be agreed unanimously.
#UnitedNations: According to diplomatic sources, the #UnitedStates reportedly vetoed a #UN #SecurityCouncil draft statement expressing regret at #Israel's decision to not renew the mandate of the Temporary International Presence in #Hebron (#TIPH).
— Paula Slier (@PaulaSlier_RT) February 7, 2019
UN diplomats said that the US had blocked the statement saying that they did not believe a council statement on the issue was appropriate.
The draft statement, seen by Reuters, would have also recognized the importance of the Temporary International Presence in Hebron (TIPH) and its “efforts to foster calm in a highly sensitive area and fragile situation on the ground, which risks further deteriorating.”
Israel has announced the expulsion of all TIPH human rights monitors from Hebron! This action risks a severe increase in danger to the Palestinian community. #HebronNeedsProtection @UN @EUCouncil
TAKE ACTION NOW: https://t.co/ypD5L9eZci pic.twitter.com/26NJxJuM8b
— PSC (@PSCupdates) February 5, 2019
The proposed statement also intended to express the Security Council’s “regret” about Israel’s “unilateral decision” to eject the force from occupied Hebron and call for “calm and restraint”.
The TIPH was set up after a Jewish settler, Baruch Goldstein, massacred 29 Palestinians in 1994 at the Ibrahimi Mosque during the holy month of Ramadan.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said last week he would not renew the mandate of TIPH accusing the observers of unspecified anti-Israel activity. His decision heightened Palestinian concerns over their safety.
(MEMO, PC, Social Media)
