Israel came under international pressure this weekend over a recent decision to cancel the mandate of an international observation mission in Hebron that Israeli officials have accused of systematically targeting the city's Jewish residents.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, meanwhile, has said privately that he has no intention of reversing his decision and reinstating the Temporary International Presence in Hebron, which has operated in the city for the past 22 years.
Over the weekend, the foreign ministers from the countries that sponsor the TIPH mission – Norway, Sweden, Italy, Switzerland and Turkey – issued a joint statement to express their regret over the decision and called on Israel to reverse it.
"The end of the TIPH mission is a divergence from the Oslo Accords. We are concerned the Israeli government is ceasing the activity of one of the only mechanisms aimed at stabilizing the [Israeli-Palestinian] conflict," the statement said.
The United Nations has also called on Israel to change its position, while U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric said in a statement Saturday that Secretary-General Antonio Guterres was "grateful" to the five countries that contributed to the TIPH presence.
Palestinians in Hebron have accused Israel of trying to rid the city of "witnesses" to its actions in Judea and Samaria by ejecting the observer force.
"[The Israelis] don't want there to be witnesses to their crimes, or any other crime they commit against the Palestinians anywhere, and especially in Hebron," said the city's mayor, Tayseer Abu Sinaneh.
The TIPH was set up after settler Baruch Goldstein killed 29 Palestinians who were praying at the Cave of the Patriarchs in 1994. The city has also seen numerous Palestinian stabbing and shooting attacks against settlers and security forces. The TIPH draws staff from Norway, Italy, Sweden, Switzerland and Turkey. The TIPH website says it has 64 international staff in the city. An Israeli official said its mandate ends on Jan. 31.
Yishai Fleisher, a spokesman for the Hebron Jewish community, said the TIPH observers "created an atmosphere of conflict, not a congenial atmosphere of peace."
Jews and Palestinians, he said, have inhabited the city for centuries: "We know each other and I'm sure we'll find a way to get along without Norwegian help," Fleisher said.
Deputy Foreign Minister Tzipi Hotovely, who spearheaded the efforts to end TIPH's mandate, said in November that the TIPH were pro-Palestinian, "ignore Palestinian terrorism and harm IDF soldiers by documenting their daily security activity."
