Illegal Israeli actions in the OPT – Letter from Palestine

Identical letters dated 10 May 2002 from the Permanent Observer of Palestine

to the United Nations addressed to the Secretary-General

and the President of the Security Council

The Israeli military campaign against the Palestinian people continues unabated, and the human rights violations, war crimes and State terrorism being committed by the Israeli occupying forces continue to mount. The most recent escalation of this campaign, being waged now for over five weeks, has not been reversed nor has it ceased. Security Council resolutions 1402 (2002) and 1403 (2002) have not yet been fully implemented as Israel, the occupying Power, continues its onslaught in the Occupied Palestinian Territory.

Palestinian cities remain under siege and, in fact, the Israeli occupying forces have repeatedly reinvaded and reoccupied parts of several Palestinian cities. The occupying forces also continued to raid homes and buildings during these recurring invasions, abducting 17 more Palestinians only yesterday. The detrimental impact of this continuing siege on the socio-economic life of the Palestinian people continues to be severe and suffocating, and the humanitarian situation on the ground as a result continues to be grave.

Moreover, the Israeli occupying forces continue to use excessive and indiscriminate force, killing more Palestinians, including children, women and elderly, and causing wanton destruction as they carry out this bloody military campaign. A tragic illustration of this excessive use of force was the killing of a Palestinian woman and two children in Jenin on 6 May. As a tank and armoured personnel carrier moved, a tank tread broke apart and, blindly assuming the noise was an attack and claiming “suspicious movement” nearby, the occupying soldiers fired indiscriminately, killing the woman and her son and daughter.

Furthermore, it is now being reported that the Israeli occupying forces are carrying out preparations to launch yet more intense assaults, this time against the densely populated Gaza Strip. An Israeli official has stated that they plan to strike in the form of “air attacks and well-targeted ground operations”. These preparations are taking place despite the Palestinian Authority’s condemnation of the suicide bombing that occurred in Israel on 7 May. Moreover, such preparations are occurring despite clear statements made by President Arafat, on 8 May, calling on Palestinian security forces “to confront and prevent and any terror attacks against Israeli civilians from any Palestinian”, in spite of the great difficulties facing these forces due to the Israeli attacks against them and the widespread destruction caused to their facilities.

The intent of Israel, the occupying Power, to cause even more death and destruction among the Palestinian people is glaringly apparent as its occupying forces plan and prepare to carry out even more deadly assaults. This intention was vociferously reaffirmed by the Israeli Prime Minister, Ariel Sharon, when he declared on 7 May, “He who rises up to kill us — we will pre-empt it, and kill him first”. Such statements by the Israeli leader are reflective of the increasing, and indeed frightening, acceptance of the culture of killing as the norm for the occupying Power in dealing with the Palestinian people.

In follow-up to my previous 119 letters to you regarding the ongoing crisis in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including Jerusalem, dated from 29 September 2000 to 29 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; 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 and A/ES-10/169-S/2002/495), I regret to inform you that, since my last letter to you, at least 44 Palestinians have been killed by the Israeli occupying forces. This raises the total number of Palestinians killed by the occupying forces to 1,509 martyrs. The annex to the present letter contains the names of the martyrs that have thus far been identified, and the names of other Palestinians that have been killed 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 May 2002 from the Permanent Observer

of Palestine 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*
(Monday, 29 April, through Wednesday, 8 May 2002)

Monday, 29 April 2002

1.   Raja’e Abu Shama
2.  Amjed Katba (3 years old)
3.   Munzir Katba
4.  Hussein Odah
5.  Akram Hamouri
6.   Nidal Abayyat
7.  Nader Shahine
8.  Ashraf Shahine
9.  Ibrahim Shahine
10.  Saada Nijim
11.  Mahmoud Qinnah
12.  Khaled Habash

   Tuesday, 30 April 2002

1.  Mohammed Abu Ghara
2.   Kamla Tirawi
3.  Aziz Samara
4.  Mohareb Abu Sahloul
5.  Khader Hanaideq

   Wednesday, 1 May 2002

1.  Abdallah Abu Shallouf
2.  Huda Abu Shallouf (2 years old)
3.  Ahmed Abu Khitla
4.  Bilal Al-Dirby
5.  Hassan Abu Jazzar
6.   Fadi Al-Ajlouni (7 years old)
7.  Abed Ismail (11 years old)

   Thursday, 2 May 2002

1.  Sabha Ghanem
2.  Mohammed Abu Abed
3.  Nidal Ismail (12 years old)
4.  Abdelqader Hajaj

   Friday, 3 May 2002

1.  Ali Hudairy
2.   Ibrahim Hammad
3.  Abdulkarim Arja

   Saturday, 4 May 2002

1.  Ramzi Eid
2.  Khalaf Najajra

   Sunday, 5 May 2002

1.   Rahma Mire’ (infant — 1 day old)
2.  Fatma Abu Samra
3.  Basel Abu Samra (4 years old)
4.  Abeer Abu Samra (3 years old)
5.  Tamer Abu Sairya (9 years old)

   Monday, 6 May 2002 

1.  Suhail Zayyada
2.  Hazim Wadiya
3.  Mahrous Bahtaity
4.  Mazen Abu Rizq

    Tuesday, 7 May 2002

Jamal Shaer (17 years old)

    Wednesday, 8 May 2002

Majdi Borhom (18 years old)

________________

 *The total number of Palestinian martyrs killed by Israeli occupying forces since 28 September 2000 is 1,509.