Illegal Israeli actions in OPT – Letter from Palestine

Identical letters dated 10 April 2002 from the Permanent Observer of

Palestine to the United Nations addressed to the Secretary-General

and the President of the Security Council

The crisis in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including Jerusalem, continues to escalate perilously. The vicious and bloody Israeli onslaught against the Palestinian people and Palestinian leadership has indeed widened in scope and intensity since my last letter to you on 5 April 2002. The death toll of Palestinians continues to mount and the path of destruction being wrought continues to expand as a result of this ongoing military campaign by Israel, the occupying Power.

Of profound concern is the critical situation in the occupied cities of Jenin and Nablus and the adjacent refugee camps that have come under brutal attacks by Israeli occupying forces in recent days. The refugee camp in Jenin has endured the deadliest Israeli assaults, with reports of more than 100 Palestinians killed, including innocent children, women and men. Many of those killed by the Israeli occupying forces bled to death as they lay in the streets while Israeli soldiers continued to prevent emergency medical assistance from reaching them. Moreover, the bodies of so many of the Palestinians killed remain in the streets, as the occupying forces continue to deny Palestinians the ability to retrieve the dead for burial. In addition to the tragic human carnage, Israeli tanks, bulldozers and missiles have completely ravaged the refugee camp, causing severe destruction to homes, properties, roads and the entire infrastructure of the refugee camp.

In nearby Nablus and in Al-Ain refugee camp, Israeli occupying forces also continue to wage attacks by tanks and helicopter gunships against the Palestinian people, killing at least 14 Palestinians. Israeli occupying forces have also continued to round up Palestinian males in the two Palestinian cities and the refugee camps. The number of Palestinian males being arbitrarily detained by the occupying forces has now surpassed 2,000.

In Bethlehem, the Israeli siege of the Church of the Nativity also continues and the city, like the other cities reoccupied by the Israeli occupying forces, remains a closed military zone. Moreover, the Israeli occupying forces continue their siege of the headquarters of President Yasser Arafat in the besieged city of Ramallah.

The humanitarian situation on the ground in the Occupied Palestinian Territory has become both tragic and appalling owing to the depraved policies and practices of the occupying Power, which are in total violation of even the most basic human rights. The curfews imposed on Palestinian towns and cities continue to intensify the suffering of the Palestinian people, preventing them from attending to essential needs, such as procuring food and water, and electricity is still cut off in many of the besieged towns, cities and refugee camps.

United Nations agencies, including the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, and other humanitarian aid organizations, including the International Committee for the Red Cross, continue to be prevented from providing emergency food and medical assistance to Palestinian people. At the same time, Israeli occupying forces continue to prevent journalists from reporting on the situation, targeting them and harassing them, confiscating tapes and blocking access to Palestinian cities and refugee camps to enable the occupying forces to carry out their military campaign of war crimes and State terrorism out of the view of the international community.

All of this continues despite repeated calls by the international community, in particular the Security Council, for the immediate implementation of Security Council resolution 1402 (2002) and, most recently, resolution 1403 (2002), which calls for the withdrawal, without delay, of Israeli occupying forces from Palestinian cities, including Ramallah. We once again call upon the international community to take action to ensure the implementation of these Security Council resolutions and to bring an immediate halt to the Israeli onslaught against the Palestinian people in the Occupied Palestinian Territory.

  In follow-up to my previous 115 letters to you regarding the crisis in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including Jerusalem, dated from 29 September 2000 to 5 April 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 and A/ES-10/165-S/2002/356), it is my profound regret to inform you that at least 104 Palestinians have been killed by the Israeli occupying forces, raising the total number of Palestinian martyrs to 1,340. Once again, owing to the extremely difficult circumstances in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, we have been unable to compile a complete and accurate list of all of the Palestinian martyrs that have been killed by the Israeli occupying forces, particularly those that have been killed in the attack on the Jenin refugee camp. The annex to the present letter contains the names of the martyrs that have thus far been identified and the names of the other Palestinians that have been killed by the occupying forces will be conveyed once they are identified.

I would be grateful if you would arrange to have the text of the present letter and its annex distributed as a 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 10 April 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*

(Saturday, 6 April 2002, to Tuesday, 9 April 2002)

   Saturday, 6 April 2002

1.   Munir Issa Wahashi
2.  Mustafa Al-Shalabi
3.   Mohammed Mahmoud Hamed
4.  Tarik Darwasheh
5.   Samir Mohammed Jaradat
6.  Fadi Abu Odeh
7.   Ayman Zaki Attiyeh Al-Jazar
8.  Tarik Suliman Ahmed Abu Hassanein
9.  Nder Jameel Al-Hadar
10.  Jihad Hamad Quraeish
11.   Sherrif Khalil Al-Omri
12.  Majid Abu Al-Rab
13.   Robin Jamil Mahmoud Al-Khadoor (13 years old)
14.   Ali Mustafa Abu Riziq
15.  Shadi Fawzi Mohammed Abu Ghali
16.  Samiha Najeh Abdelhady Hassan
17.   Salwa Mohammed Khaled Al-Dahlees (12 years old)
18.  Imad Al-Haj Hamad
19.  Khaled Shaqo
20.  Issam Darmali
21.   Nidal Obeidat
22.  Ilham Ali Dusoqi
23.  Mouaied Jameel
24.  Abdelfattah Mohammed Abu Al-Rab

   Sunday, 7 April 2002

1.  Kamal Al-Mallah
2.  Youssef Abu Zied
3.  Hani Al-Shalabi
4.   Iyad Abu Al-Rab
5.  Mahmoud Al-Qanne
6.  Majid Sawafteh
7.  Yasser Al-Shaweesh
8.  Amjad Al-Qatooni
9.   Saidi Mohammed Abu Hasneh
10.  Khaled Musa Juma’a Al-Tier
11.  Nidal Abu Odeh
12.  Basil Al-Zaloul
13.   Kamal Abu Shihab
14.  Nasser Al-Assali
15.   Abdallah Mo-tee Akleek (18 years old)
16.  Nasser Abu Al-Soud
17.  Ihab Fahmawy
18.  Ribhi Loulou (14 years old)
19.   Izzedine Zaher Hasan Samhan
20.  Wadah Shalabi
21.   Abdelkarim Al-Sa’adi
22.  Rasha Fretakh
23.   Mohammed Al-Ghandoor
24.  Freiz Killay
25.  Nabil Al-Koni
26.  Ahmed Al-Tabooq
27.  Mohammed Al-Qinah
28.   Samir Abu Leil
29.  Yasser Abu Shadi
30.  Youssef Abu Sayf
31.  Ahmed Faza’a
32.  Nasser Abu Kharfa
33.   Majid Al-Qinah Abu Shrar
34.  Zahiah Freitkh
35.   Jamal Al-Tirawi
36.  Mahmod Teem
37.  Nasser Hamami
38.  Ahsraf Mohammed Abu Al-Hayjah

   Monday, 8 April 2002

1.  Khaled Abu Siyam
2.  Mubtasim Youssef Irheemy
3.  Mahmoud Al-Hams
4.   Salam Jabour
5.  Hafiz Sabra
6.  Imad Salah Folfol
7.  Omran Fleifel
8.  Azhar Shawkat Amriyah
9.   Ahmed Mamdouh Ahmed Al-Masri
10.  Issam Sherrif Al-Dareemli
11.  Nasser Al-Ghareeb
12.  Shaehhen Mahmoud Suhweil
13.   Kamal Abdelhady Badran

   Tuesday, 9 April 2002

1.  Mohammed Abu Sabra
2.   Amjed Ahmed Obadeh (11 years old)
3.  Nasser Abu Hatab
4.   Salem Al-Jaabeer
5.  Yehya Al-Zubaidi
6.  Yusri Abu Farkh
7.  Oum Marwan Washahi
8.  Jamal Al-Sabagh
9.   Aref Mahmoud Sayed Ahmed
10.  Nayef Salem Sayed Ahmed
11.   Taher Khalil Abdelqader Dodeen
12.  Ahmed Omar Mustafa Odeh
13.  Raed Durghameh
14.  Kamal Awad
15.  Mahmoud Alola
16.  Hamdi Ashteiah
17.  Maher Al-Khazaz
18.   Rawhi Owadeh
19.  Mohammed Owadeh
20.  Ala’a Al-Atleet
21.  Yasser Abu Al-Soud
22.  Abu Mahmoud Sabra
23.   Daughter of Abu Mahmoud Sabra
24.   Raba’a Youssef Abu Zied (13 years old)
25.  Sanur Wajih Dewikat
26.  Taha Al-Zubaidi
27.  Ala’a Al-Sabagh
28.   Mahmoud Abu Al-Seba’a
29.  Bilal Al-Teeni

________________

 *The total number of Palestinian martyrs killed by Israeli occupying forces since 28 September 2000 is 1,340.