Following Israel's expulsion of an international observer force from the West Bank city of Hebron, Palestinian activists are trying to fill the void by launching their own patrols to document alleged Israeli settler violence.
Armed with video cameras and donning blue vests, the activists say they will replace the Temporary International Presence in Hebron. The group has enlisted 18 volunteers and began its work this week.
"By expelling the international monitors, the Israeli government wanted to hide the Israeli settlers' and soldiers' violations, but we will not let them get away with that," Issa Amro, an activist leader, told The Associated Press. "We will document any attack by photos and words, and we will circulate it all over the world."
On January 28, Israel suspended TIPH operations after 25 years, alleging the body is corrupt and routinely violated it mandate by systematically targeting Jewish settlers.
"We will not allow the continuation of an international force that acts against us," Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said.
TIPH has deployed unarmed civilian observers from Norway, Italy, Sweden, Switzerland and Turkey in Hebron since 1997. Its stated mission is to report on violations of international humanitarian and human rights laws.
In a joint statement, TIPH member countries said the suspension "undermines one of the few established mechanisms for conflict resolution between Israelis and Palestinians." The EU said it "risks further deteriorating the already fragile situation on the ground."
The mission has long had a strained relationship with the settlers.
TIPH had drawn negative press in Israel in recent years after one of its observers was deported by Israel after slapping an Israeli child and another was filmed puncturing the tires of a settler's vehicle.
Amro, the Palestinian activist leader, is well-known in Hebron. Saying he promotes non-violent opposition to discriminatory Israeli policies, he has run afoul of both Israeli and Palestinian authorities.
He has been accused of inciting violence by Israeli authorities. In 2017, he was arrested by Palestinian authorities for a Facebook post critical of PA President Mahmoud Abbas.
Amro and other volunteer activists began their work on Sunday as a "human rights monitoring and protection team" by escorting Palestinian students to school in Hebron's Israeli-controlled downtown area.
Tensions started right away, Amro said.
An AP cameraman filmed a settler cursing the activists in front of the Israeli soldiers as "dogs and sons of dogs." An activist cursed the settler back.
Amro said he was "slapped and punched by the settlers" and vowed to file a complaint with Israeli police.
Yishai Fleisher, a settler spokesman, said the Hebron Jewish community is "fully against violence and vigilantism" and doesn't condone its members' altercation with Amro and the other volunteers. At the same time, he accused Amro of being an "instigator," and the main source of tension between Jews and Arabs in Hebron.
"This is the ultimate fake observer, fake peace monitor," Fleischer said. "He's interested in demolishing any sense of normality that has been built up between Jews and Arabs in Hebron."
In response to the arrival of the activists, the IDF declared the area of the Old City a military closed zone on Tuesday and banned the activists from remaining there.
Izzat Karaki, another activist, vowed to continue the work. "We will stay here and support our students and people," he said.
