Illegal Israeli actions in OPT – Letter from Palestine

Identical letters dated 6 August 2002 from the Permanent Observer of Palestine to the

United Nations addressed to the Secretary-General and the President of the Security Council

The toll of death and destruction in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including Jerusalem, continues to rise as Israel, the occupying Power, continues to carry out its brutal military campaign against the Palestinian people. As the military siege and reoccupation of major Palestinian cities and population centres in the Occupied West Bank continues, the occupying forces have in recent days caused vast destruction, in particular in the city of Nablus.

Beginning on Friday, 2 August 2002, the Israeli occupying forces launched yet another invasion of Nablus. Backed by dozens of tanks and armoured vehicles, the occupying forces entered the city, causing extensive destruction to buildings and infrastructure, particularly in the Old City or Casbah, adding to the destruction wrought by the occupying forces in the Old City in recent months. The Old City’s significance as an historic heritage site compounds the seriousness of this latest Israeli crime.

The Israeli siege and reoccupation of Nablus has caused increased suffering for all of the Palestinian inhabitants of the city, who are already living under grave socio-economic conditions as a result of the ongoing Israeli military campaign. Just today, the occupying forces fired upon a group of Palestinians, who defied the curfew in order to get food, killing a 15-year-old Palestinian boy and injuring several others. Moreover, in the recent invasion of Nablus, the occupying forces have rounded up and abducted numerous Palestinians.

In addition, the Israeli occupying forces have carried out numerous illegal demolitions of Palestinian homes in the past week both in the West Bank and in the Gaza Strip. Dozens of Palestinian families have been rendered homeless as a result of these recent home demolitions. Israel, the occupying Power, has also once again resorted to the illegal practice of deportation against the Palestinian people and is threatening actually to deport a number of Palestinians.

Israel, the occupying Power, must be held accountable for all of these war crimes, State terrorism and human rights violations being committed by the Israeli occupying forces against the Palestinian people. These Israeli violations and crimes are destroying any potential for peace between the two sides and have been the cause of mounting suffering and misery for the Palestinian people as the humanitarian crisis they face as a result of such actions continues to worsen.

All of this is happening at a time when the General Assembly, convened in its resumed tenth emergency special session, adopted resolution ES-10/11 (5 August 2002) by a large majority, demanding, inter alia, the immediate withdrawal of the Israeli occupying forces from Palestinian population centres towards a return to the positions held prior to September 2000. We await serious follow-up of the above resolution by the international community and look forward to its speedy implementation along with the long-overdue implementation of relevant resolutions of the Security Council. The timely implementation of these resolutions would serve to promote calm and a return to the path of peace, towards a final resolution of this prolonged and tragic conflict caused by more than 35 years of the illegal Israeli occupation of Palestinian land and oppression of the Palestinian people

  In follow-up to my previous 132 letters to you regarding the ongoing crisis in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including Jerusalem, dated from 29 September 2000 to 23 July 2002 (A/55/432-S/2000/921; A/55/437-S/2000/930; A/55/450-S/2000/957; A/55/466-S/2000/971; A/55/474-S/2000/984; A/55/490-S/2000/993; A/ES-10/39-S/2000/1015; A/ES-10/40-S/2000/1025; A/ES-10/42-S/2000/1068; A/ES-10/43-S/2000/1078; A/ES-10/44-S/2000/1093; A/ES-10/45-S/2000/1104; A/ES-10/46-S/2000/1107; A/ES-10/47-S/2000/1116; A/ES-10/48-S/2000/1129; A/ES-10/49-S/2000/1154; A/ES-10/50-S/2000/1173; A/ES-10/51-S/2000/1185; A/ES-10/52-S/2000/1215; A/ES-10/53-S/2000/1247; A/ES-10/54-S/2001/7; A/ES-10/55-S/2001/33; A/ES/10/56-S/2001/50, A/ES-10/57-S/2001/101; A/ES-10/58-S/2001/131 A/ES-10/59-S/2001/156;  A/ES-10/60-S/2001/175; A/ES-10/61-S/2001/189; A/ES-10/64-S/2001/209;  A/ES-10/65-S/2001/226; A/ES-10/66-S/2001/239; A/ES-10/67-S/2001/255; A/ES-10/68-S/2001/284; A/ES-10/69-S/2001/295; A/ES-10/70-S/2001/304; A/ES-10/71-S/2001/314; A/ES-10/72-S/2001/332; A/ES-10/75-S/2001/352; A/ES-10/76-S/2001/372; A/ES-10/79-S/2001/418; A/ES-10/80-S/2001/432; A/ES-10/81-S/2001/447; A/ES-10/82-S/2001/463; A/ES-10/83-S/2001/471; A/ES-10/84-S/2001/479; A/ES-10/85-S/2001/486; A/ES-10/86-S/2001/496

; A/ES-10/87-S/2001/504; A/ES-10/88-S/2001/508; A/ES-10/89-S/2001/544; A/ES-10/90-S/2001/586; A/ES-10/91-S/2001/605; A/ES-10/92-S/2001/629; A/ES-10/93-S/2001/657; A/ES-10/94-S/2001/669; A/ES-10/95-S/2001/686; A/ES-10/96-S/2001/697; A/ES-10/97-S/2001/708; A/ES-10/98-S/2001/717; A/ES-10/99-S/2001/742; A/ES-10/100-S/2001/754; A/ES-10/101-S/2001/783; A/ES-10/102-S/2001/785; A/ES-10/103-S/2001/798; A/ES-10/104-S/2001/812; A/ES-10/105-S/2001/814; A/ES-10/107-S/2001/821; A/ES-10/108-S/2001/826; A/ES-10/110-S/2001/855; A/ES-10/111-S/2001/880; A/ES-10/112-S/2001/918; A/ES-10/114-S/2001/928; A/ES-10/115-S/2001/932; A/ES-10/116-S/2001/941; A/ES-10/117-S/2001/971; A/ES-10/118-S/2001/989; A/ES-10/119-S/2001/991; A/ES-10/121-S/2001/1007; A/ES-10/122-S/2001/1024; A/ES-10/123-S/2001/1036; A/ES-10/124-S/2001/1084; A/ES-10/125-S/2001/1092; A/ES-10/126-S/2001/1118; A/ES-10/128-S/2001/1149; A/ES-10/129-S/2001/1166; A/ES-10/133-S/2001/1239, A/ES-10/134-S/2001/1261, A/ES-10/136-S/2002/18, A/ES-10/137-S/2002/39, A/ES-10/138-S/2002/48, A/ES-10/139-S/2002/58, A/ES-10/140-S/2002/89, A/ES-10/141-S/2002/95, A/ES-10/142-S/2002/102, A/ES-10/143-S/2002/121, A/ES-10/144-S/2002/142, A/ES-10/145-S/2002/146, A/ES-10/146-S/2002/165; A/ES-10/147-S/2002/175; A/ES-10/148-S/2002/182

, A/ES-10/149-S/2002/190, A/ES-10/150-S/2002/214 A/ES-10/151-S/2002/223; A/ES-10/152-S/2002/232; A/ES-10/154-S/2002/242, A/ES-10/155-S/2002/248, A/ES-10/156-S/2002/249, A/ES-10/157-S/2002/253; A/ES-10/158-S/2002/258; A/ES-10/159-S/2002/281; A/ES-10/160-S/2002/307; A/ES-10/161-S/2002/319; A/ES-10/162-S/2002/330; A/ES-10/163-S/2002/340; A/ES-10/164-S/2002/353; A/ES-10/165-S/2002/356; A/ES-10/166-S/2002/370; A/ES/10/167-S/2002/433; A/ES-10/168-S/2002/474; A/ES-10/169-S/2002/495; A/ES-10/173-S/2002/536;  A/ES-10/174-S/2002/555; A/ES-10/175-S/2002/610; A/ES-10/176-S/2002/617, A/ES-10/177-S/2002/641; A/ES-10/178-S/2002/650; A/ES-10/179-S/2002/654 A/ES-10/180-S/2002/686; A/ES-10/181-S/2002/697; A/ES-10/182-S/2002/699; A/ES-10/183-S/2002/717; A/ES-10/184-S/2002/738; and A/ES-10/185-S/2002/827), it is my profound regret to inform you that since my last letter to you, at least 26 more Palestinians, including women and children, have been killed by Israeli occupying forces, raising the total number of Palestinian martyrs killed since 28 September 2000 to 1,731 people. (The names of the martyrs that have been identified thus far are contained in the annex to the present letter.)

  I should be grateful if you would arrange to have the present letter and its annex distributed as an official document of the tenth emergency special session of the General Assembly, under agenda item 5, and of the Security Council.

(Signed) Nasser Al-Kidwa 
Ambassador
Permanent Observer of Palestine to the United Nations

Annex to the identical letters dated 6 August 2002 from the Permanent Observer

of Palestine to the United Nations addressed to the Secretary-General

and the President of the Security Council

Names of martyrs killed by Israeli occupying forces in the

Occupied Palestinian Territory, including Jerusalem ^* 
(Wednesday, 24 July-Sunday, 6 August 2002)

Wednesday, 24 July 2002

1.  Dalia Mattar (6 years old)

2.   Mohammed Rateb Mattar (4 years old)

3.  Ayman Mattar (1 year old)

Thursday, 25 July 2002

1.  Sami Suleiman Abu Salah 

Friday, 26 July 2002

1.   Ziad Tayseer Ahmed Al-Haj Hassan

Saturday, 27 July 2002

1.  Anwar Mohammed Fayad

Sunday, 28 July 2002

1.  Nivine Mousa Jamjoum (14 years old)

Monday, 29 July 2002

1.  Ma’moun Mohiyedin Eizat Al-Zibn (18 years old)

Tuesday, 30 July 2002

1.  Madeline Meddein Younes Nasasreh (infant — 9 months old) 

Wednesday, 31 July 2002

1.  Atta Al-Louzy

Thursday, 1 August 2002

1.  Leila Hossam Beiheiry (18 years old)

2.   Nivine Jihad Selmy (3 years old)

3.  Marwan Jamal Khayal 

Friday, 2 August 2002

1.  Amjad Abdelhady Jabour Eshtiyeh

2.  Raed Fathi Al-Amad

3.  No’man Hussein Zaloum

4.  Fatma Abdallah Abu Daher

5.   Asma’a Tahseen Ahmed (9 years old)

6.  Ahmed Tawfiq Al-Dirzi 

Sunday, 4 August 2002

1.   Abdelrahman Ibrahim Abdelrahim Al-Taweel

2.  Mohammed Yehya Khalil Nisyou

Monday, 5 August 2002

1.  Mohammed Rida Daghlas Farounieh

2.  Khalid Abdelaziz Mahmoud Seif

3.   Hamzeh Mohammed Badawy Al-Saed Dewikat (13 years old)

Tuesday, 6 August 2002

1.  Ali Mohammed Al-Ajoury

2.  Murad Suleiman Rushdi Marshoud

___________________

 ^* The total number of Palestinian martyrs killed by Israeli occupying forces since 28 September 2000 is 1,731.