Temporary International Presence in the City of Hebron

The TIPH is an international civilian observer mission. The TIPH assists the parties in the normalisation of the situation in the city and reports on their efforts and the breaches of the agreements on Hebron and international law. TIPH reports to the Palestinian and Israeli authorities and to the six member countries.

 
 

The 1994 massacre

On 25 February 1994, 29 worshippers were shot dead and another 100 injured by Baruch Goldstein in the Ibrahimi Mosque/Cave of Machpela.

Goldstein was living in the Kiryat Arba settlement in the outskirts of Hebron, and was a medical doctor in the Israeli Defence Forces.

After the shooting he was killed by surviving worshippers. The massacre took place during the Muslim month of Ramadan, and lead to Palestinian protests and deadly riots the following week.

The massacre was condemned by the Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, and the Israeli government appointed an official and independent commission of inquiry. The Commission was headed by then President of the Supreme Court, Judge Meir Shamgar. The Shamgar Commission concluded that Goldstein acted on his own.

After the massacre, the Ibrahimi Mosque/Cave of Machpela was divided into two parts with separate entrances for Muslims and Jews.

The United Nations condemned the massacre in the Security Council Resolution 904, which also asked for a temporary international presence in the city of Hebron.