Turkey calls out Israel over Hebron decision

By Suleyman Tunc

ANKARA (AA) – Turkey's ruling party spokesman on Saturday urged for condemnation of Israel’s decision to terminate the mandate of international monitors in the West Bank town of Hebron.

In a tweet, Omer Celik of the Justice and Development (AK) Party called on the world to be “careful” about Israel after its termination of the Hebron observer force.

“Israel’s decision shows that new attacks are planned,” Celik wrote.

On Monday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced that Israel would not renew the mandate of the Temporary International Presence in Hebron (TIPH), which was first dispatched to Hebron (Khalil) in 1994.

Composed of 64 international observers from Norway, Denmark, Sweden, Switzerland, Italy and Turkey, the TIPH was established by UN Security Council Resolution 904.

That resolution was adopted following Hebron’s 1994 Ibrahimi Mosque massacre, when Jewish extremist Baruch Goldstein gunned down 29 Palestinian worshippers.

Hebron is currently home to some 160,000 Palestinian Muslims and about 500 Jewish settlers. The latter live in a series of Jewish-only enclaves heavily guarded by Israeli troops.