Illegal Israeli actions in OPT – Letter from Palestine

Identical letters dated 13 December 2002 from the Permanent Observer

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

and the President of the Security Council

Israel, the occupying Power, continues to use excessive and indiscriminate force against the civilian population under its occupation, committing war crimes, State terrorism and systematic human rights violations against the Palestinian people on a daily basis. Since my letter to you one week ago, the Israeli occupying forces have killed 16 men, women and children throughout the Occupied Palestinian Territory.

Following the Israeli attack on the Breij refugee camp in Gaza on 6 December, on Saturday, 7 December, the occupying forces shot and killed a Palestinian man, Abdelhady Al-Omari, in Jenin. The next day, 8 December, the occupying forces killed a Palestinian woman, Nahla Abdelrahman, age 41, and critically wounded two of her children as they were walking to their home in Rafah. The following day, 9 December, the Israeli occupying forces shot and killed a mentally ill Palestinian man near the city of Tulkarem. Tuesday, 10 December, witnessed the shooting and killing of a 25-year-old Palestinian woman, Rihaneh Al-Kilany, riding in a taxi in the Askar refugee camp in Nablus. On Wednesday, 11 December, the occupying forces committed yet another extrajudicial execution, with the killing of Osama Badra, age 27, as he fled for his life in the Balata refugee camp in Nablus. The next day, Thursday, 12 December, among those killed by the Israeli occupying forces were five Palestinian men, two brothers and three cousins from the same family, who were trying to climb a fence into Israel in a clearly desperate search for work. These killings were followed today by the extrajudicial execution of another Palestinian man near the city of Bethlehem.

In addition to the heinous killings of Palestinian civilians, the occupying forces have continued to carry out raids throughout Palestinian cities, towns, villages and refugee camps, abducting and detaining dozens of Palestinians in the past week alone. Moreover, the occupying Power has continued to carry out the illegal practice of home demolitions in the Occupied Palestinian Territory. Just today, the occupying forces destroyed three houses in the city of Al-Khalil. Such measures of collective punishment, similar to the killing and injury of Palestinians by the occupying forces, are being carried out on a daily basis. This has included the continuing imposition of severe restrictions on the movement of persons and goods, including the imposition of 24-hour curfews on several cities, towns and refugee camps. As repeatedly reported, these restrictions and curfews have completely debilitated Palestinian society in all areas and have gravely impacted the socio-economic situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, a situation that has plummeted to the level of a dire humanitarian crisis for months now.

As a backdrop to the poverty and hunger that have been rapidly increasing among the Palestinian population under Israeli occupation, several United Nations agencies and other humanitarian organizations continue to work to provide assistance to needy and impoverished Palestinians. Their work is not without challenges and obstacles as the occupying forces continue to hamper their work, subjecting them to severe restrictions on movement, at times even preventing the assistance from reaching those in need, harassing personnel and creating other obstacles to their work in the Occupied Palestinian Territory. Indeed, the United Nations in particular continues to be a target of Israeli violence and destruction. In addition to the recent killing of personnel of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), in a recent strike carried out in Beit Lahiya in Gaza, the occupying forces deliberately demolished a warehouse used by the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP). That warehouse, which was clearly marked with the United Nations and WFP insignias, contained 537 metric tons of donated food supplies intended for distribution to needy Palestinians. According to the Agency, the food was enough to feed at least 38,000 people for a month. The destruction of these humanitarian supplies is deplorable and can only compound the difficulties being faced by humanitarian agencies in their efforts to alleviate the suffering of the Palestinian people.

We once again reiterate the urgent need for the international community to take action to address all of the above-mentioned serious violations and grave breaches of international law and international humanitarian law being committed by the occupying Power against the Palestinian people. We urge the Security Council to uphold its duties for the maintenance of international peace and security. The Council cannot continue to evade its responsibility to take measures to bring an end to the continuing Israeli crimes against the Palestinian people.

In follow-up to my previous 148 letters to you regarding the crisis in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including Jerusalem, dated from 29 September 2000 to 3 December 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/2000/1206; 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-10/111-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/2002/186; 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/2002/245; 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/2002/361; 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; A/ES-10/185-S/2002/827; A/ES-10/190-S/2002/891; A/ES-10/192-S/2002/976; A/ES-10/193-S/2002/983; A/ES-10/194-S/2002/1052; A/ES-10/195-S/2002/1066; A/ES-10/196-S/2002/1083; A/ES-10/197-S/2002/1094; A/ES-10/198-S/2002/1104; A/ES-10/199-S/2002/1114; A/ES-10/200-S/2002/1144; A/ES-10/201-S/2002/1166; A/ES-10/202-S/2002/1244; A/ES-10/203-S/2002/1270; A/ES-10/204-S/2002/1298; A/ES-10/205-S/2002/1319; and A/ES-10/206-S/2002/1336), I regret to inform you that, since my last letter to you, at least 16 Palestinians have been killed by the Israeli occupying forces. This raises the total number of Palestinian martyrs killed since 28 September 2000 to 1,994. (The names of the martyrs that have been identified thus fa r are contained in the annex to the present letter.)

I would be grateful if you would arrange to have 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 13 December 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, 7 December to Friday, 13 December 2002)

    Saturday, 7 December 2002

 Abdelhady Omar Najib Al-Omari

    Sunday, 8 December 2002

 Nahla Abdelrahman

   Monday, 9 December 2002

1.   Ahmed Abdelkarim Al-Mijaydeh (17 years old) (died from wounds sustained on 24 August)

2.   Basil Mustafa Mohammed Ko’a

3.  Azam Abdelqader Hassan Alawneh

    Tuesday, 10 December 2002

1.   Rihaneh Hisham Fakhri Zeid Al-Kilany

2.  Yaseen Sa’eed Al-Agha

    Wednesday, 11 December 2002

 Osama Hassan Ali Badra

    Thursday, 12 December 2002

1.  Nael Mohammed Abu Libdeh 

2.   Mohammed Adel Al-Astal

3.  Asaf Adel Al-Astal

4.   Mohammed Fahmy Al-Astal

5.  Ahmed Faris Al-Astal 

6.   Ahmed Ayesh Al-Astal

   Friday, 13 December 2002

1.  Jadallah Musa Shukeh 

2.   Bassam Mohammed Al-Breem

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 *   The total number of Palestinian martyrs killed by Israeli occupying forces since 28 September 2000 is 1,994.

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