Dr. Saeb Erekat: We Call Upon the United Nations to Guarantee the Safety and Protection of the People of Palestine

The Temporary International Presence in Hebron (TIPH) was established upon the adoption of UNSC resolution 904, which expressed its shock and condemnation of the horrific massacre that took place in 1994 during the dawn prayers on a Ramadan morning in Al-Ibrahimi Mosque in Hebron. This heinous crime was carried out by one of the leaders of a terrorist Israeli settler movement, which has claimed, along with the events that followed it, the lives of 50 Palestinian civilians. Several hundred others were injured.

Among other measures, this very resolution also called upon the occupying power, Israel, to confiscate arms of the Israeli settlers to prevent them from committing further crimes against the people of Palestine. Israeli settlements have been frequently condemned as illegal by several UNSC and UNGA and a war crime under the Rome Statute. But to date, Israel has never honored neither international will nor law. Just yesterday, Benjamin Netanyahu again confirmed to the settler movement that even Israeli colonial installations, considered illegal by Israeli law, will not be removed and that the entirety of the land of historic Palestine is for the State of Israel. 

The latest Israeli decision not to renew the mandate of TIPH, which has existed since 1997, is an additional step towards Israel's nullification of all signed treaties, including the Oslo Interim Agreement. It further consolidates the Israeli colonial enterprise and represents one further step towards a "de jure" annexation of further areas in the occupied State of Palestine. It is also a shred of further evidence that Israel is a rogue state that abhors international legitimacy and places itself above and beyond international order and the international community. With the support of the current US administration, Israel continues to incite against and violate the fundamental and national rights and freedoms of the people of Palestine and to degrade and insult the very body that unites the nations of our world, the United Nations.    

Numerous Israeli violations are ongoing and continue to claim the lives of Palestinians. Most recently, the life of Hamdi Al-Na'asan, a husband and a father of four, when Israeli settlers and soldiers attacked his village al-Mughayyir last Saturday. This tragic incident is an embodiment of how the Israeli settler movement has now become part and parcel of Israel's political and executive leadership. It is also a testament to the terror that has been continuously waged by Israeli settlers against Palestinian villages and civilians. Such horrific reality should also imply a further escalation in Hebron now without any monitoring by the TIPH.  

As part of their parliamentary elections, Israeli politicians are waging an immoral dehumanization campaign against Palestine and the Palestinians that constitutes an imminent danger to our safety and security. The continuation of Israeli escalations, including the threat of home evictions facing several Palestinian families in Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood in occupied Jerusalem, against Palestinian men, women, children and elderly, necessitate the immediate intervention of the international community. Accordingly, we call upon the United Nations to guarantee the safety and protection of the people of Palestine not only ensuring the continued presence of TIPH in Hebron but also to deploy permanent international presence in occupied Palestine, including East Jerusalem, until the end of Israel's belligerent occupation.