Temporary International Presence in Hebron
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Temporary International Presence in Hebron or TIPH is a group of civilians observing the situation in the West Bank city of Hebron. It is staffed by personnel from Denmark, Italy, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland and Turkey. Its main task is to "assist in monitoring and reporting the efforts to maintain normal life in the City of Hebron, thus creating a feeling of security among Palestinians in the City of Hebron." [1]
After the Mosque of Abraham attack, in which 29 Palestinians were killed by Baruch Goldstein, the UN Security Council called for an international presence in Hebron. The first TIPH mission began on May 8, 1994. However the Palestinian Authority and the Israeli government could not reach an agreement on the extension of the mandate and the observers were therefore withdrawn on August 8, 1994.
On 1996-05-02 the TIPH observers were reinstated, this time with only Norwegian members. Since then the mission has been reinforced with staff from other countries with Norway as the coordinator.
On 2002-03-26 two observers, Catherine Berruex and Turgut Cengiz Toytunç were killed by two Palestinian gunmen. An Israeli military court found a Palestinian man guilty of the murders, in September, 2003. Israeli authorities said that three people were involved in the killing.
On 2006-02-08 following an attack on their headquarters by rioting Palestinians, all TIPH observers were temporarily withdrawn from Hebron. TIPH members began to resume their duties in April 2006 [2]
