Israel envoy to UN: International forces in Hebron are ‘hostile’

Israeli Ambassador to the UN Danny Danon described the international mission in Hebron as being “hostile” to Israeli occupation forces, Haaretz reported yesterday.

This came as the UN is expected to discuss Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s decision to expel the Temporary International Presence in Hebron’s (TIPH) from the occupied city.

The TIPH was setup by the UN Security Council following the massacre committed by the Israeli settler Baruch Goldstein on 25 February 1994 inside the Ibrahimi Mosque, which killed 29 Palestinians and injured nearly 130 others.

According to Haaretz, the Palestinian Authority (PA) raised the issue to the UN, stating that expelling the TIPH would cause the security situation in Hebron to deteriorate and harm Palestinian residents.

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Haaretz said that the UN is not expected to take any decision that demanding Israel to reinstate the mission, but said that the UN secretary-general would join the camp of critics against Israel’s move.

Dannon commented on the issue saying: “Instead of helping stabilising the field, the TIPH causes friction between the Israeli defence forces and the residents of Hebron.”

He added that there is “no place in Israel for an international force which harms the soldiers of the Israeli forces. Therefore, we will present the reality of its hostile presence to the UN Security Council.”