Identical letters dated 14 October 2015 from the Permanent Observer of the State of Palestine to the United Nations addressed to the Secretary-General, the President of the General Assembly and the President of the Security Council
Since our last letter to you, on 12 October 2015, members of the Palestinian civilian population, including women and children, have continued to be killed, injured and terrorized as a result of Israel’s latest rampage of aggression throughout the Occupied State of Palestine, including East Jerusalem. As we continue to write these letters, we must emphasize that the purpose of writing them is not only to place on record the long list of crimes committed by the occupying Power against a defenceless and occupied civilian population but also to mobilize the international community, in particular the Security Council, to immediately act to halt all of the occupying Power’s violations of international law, including humanitarian and human rights law.
Furthermore, as more and more Palestinian civilians, especially young children, are being killed and severely injured by live ammunition, we continue to call upon the international community to provide the Palestinian people with international protection. It is without a doubt that each day that passes the situation is worsening, and if the occupying Power continues to pursue its acts of aggression, collective punishment and State terrorism against an occupied people who have already suffered so much over the past five decades of Israeli occupation, the situation will hit a breaking point that may become impossible to stabilize.
The following are some of the many crimes that continue to be perpetrated by the Israeli occupying forces and terrorist settlers against the Palestinian people. This includes the latest Palestinian casualties caused by the violence and terror of the occupying Power against our defenceless civilians:
On 13 October 2015:
On 14 October 2015:
As the violations against Palestinian children continue to multiply, we continue to insist again that the Israeli Government, the Israeli occupying forces and Israeli settler militias belong on the list of grave violators of child rights in the context of the report of the Secretary-General on children and armed conflict, and we will not relent in calling for such listing in the face of ongoing violations and crimes against our innocent and defenceless children.
It is without a doubt that the above-mentioned violations are in grave breach of international humanitarian law, as well as international criminal law as articulated in the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court. For these war crimes, we will continue to seek accountability and justice through all legal and peaceful means. At the same time, we call again upon the international community, particularly the Security Council, to act now to protect the Palestinian people and defuse this dangerous situation, which clearly constitutes a threat to international peace and security.
The international community must ensure that international protection is provided to the Palestinian people in order to spare them from more loss and suffering. As we have stated in the past, the Palestinian people cannot remain the exception to the responsibility to protect civilians from atrocities and flagrant breaches of the law, for they are not just statistics but human beings whose lives are being constantly shattered by a brutal occupier that proves over and over again its total disregard for the lives and rights of the Palestinian people and total contempt for international law. The time is now for the international community to finally bring an end to Israel’s impunity and to justly resolve this conflict and bring overdue justice to the Palestinian people.
This letter is in follow-up to our 558 previous letters regarding the ongoing crisis in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, which constitutes the territory of the State of Palestine. These letters, dated from 29 September 2000 (A/55/432-5/2000/921) to 12 October 2015 (A/ES-10/695-5/2015/777), constitute a basic record of the crimes being committed by Israel, the occupying Power, against the Palestinian people since September 2000. For all of these war crimes, acts of State terrorism and systematic human rights violations being committed against the Palestinian people, Israel, the occupying Power, must be held accountable and the perpetrators must be brought to justice.
I should be grateful if you would arrange to have the text of the present letter distributed as a document of the tenth emergency special session of the General Assembly, under agenda item 5, and of the Security Council.
(Signed) Riyad Mansour
Ambassador and Permanent Observer
of the State of Palestine to the United Nations
__________
Document Type: Letter, Palestine letter (Situation in the OPT since 29 September 2000)
Document Sources: General Assembly, Secretary-General, Security Council
Country: Palestine (State of)
Subject: Agenda Item, Casualties, Children, Fourth Geneva Convention, Gaza Strip, Human rights and international humanitarian law, Incidents, Jerusalem, Occupation, Protection, Security issues, Settlements, Terrorism
Publication Date: 15/10/2015