Angry Palestinians attacked the headquarters of an international observer team in Hebron on Wednesday as part of the ongoing protest against the publication of disparaging drawings of the Prophet Mohammad by Denmark. As a result, the group was forced to leave the city.
The Temporary International Presence in Hebron (TIPH) established itself in the town in 1994 following the massacre of 29 Palestinians by a Jewish extremist. The office staffed some 160 human rights workers from Denmark, Italy, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland and Turkey.
Hundreds of men threw stones as the TIPH offices and smashed its windows, according to Reuters.
"We are leaving Hebron temporarily because of the damage to the four buildings but we will return," said Arnstein Overkil, head of the group.
"I feel safe in Hebron and I feel that we have to be in Hebron but I feel that we have to leave it because of the situation right now," he said.
TIPH's aim is to aid "efforts to maintain normal life" in the Hebron for its residents. "We don't know when we are coming back," Overkill added.
It should be noted that 11 Danish members of TIPH left more than a week ago after protests against the cartoons began sweeping across the Islamic world.
© 2006 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
