Mideast situation – Letter from Israel

Letter dated 24 September 2001 from the Permanent Representative of Israel

to the United Nations addressed to the Secretary-General

I wish to draw your attention to the latest Palestinian terrorist attack that claimed the life of an Israeli woman this morning.

Sal’it Sheetrit, aged 28, was travelling with her husband near the village of Bardaleh in the northern Jordan Valley, when gunmen in a passing vehicle opened fire on their car shortly after 6.30 a.m. (local time) this morning. Sheetrit sustained gunshots to the head and died minutes later from her wounds. The terrorist organization Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility for the attack.

The murder of Sal’it Sheetrit is the latest incident in the ongoing Palestinian campaign of terrorism that has been detailed in my letters dated 20 September 2001 (A/56/386-S/2001/892), 17 September 2001 (A/56/367-S/2001/875), 7 September 2001 (A/56/346-S/2001/858), 4 September 2001 (A/56/331-S/2001/840), 30 August 2001 (A/56/325-S/2001/834), 27 August 2001 (A/56/324-S/2001/825), 13 August 2001 (A/56/294-S/2001/787), 9 August 2001 (A/56/272-S/2001/768), 27 July 2001 (A/56/225-S/2001/743), 26 July 2001 (A/56/223-S/2001/737), 17 July 2001 (A/56/201-S/2001/706), 13 July 2001 (A/56/184-S/2001/696), 3 July 2001 (A/56/138-S/2001/662), 21 June 2001 (A/56/119-S/2001/619), 19 June 2001 (A/56/98-S/2001/611), 18 June 2001 (A/56/97-S/2001/604), 13 June 2001 (A/56/92-S/2001/585), 11 June 2001 (A/56/91-S/2001/580), 4 June 2001 (A/56/85-S/2001/555), 30 May 2001 (A/56/81-S/2001/540), 25 May 2001 (A/56/80-S/2001/524), 18 May 2001 (A/56/78-S/2001/506), 11 May 2001 (A/56/72-S/2001/473), 9 May 2001 (A/56/69-S/2001/459), 1 May 2001 (A/55/924-S/2001/435), 23 April 2001 (A/55/910-S/2001/396), 16 April 2001 (A/55/901-S/2001/364), 28 March 2001 (A/55/863-S/2001/291), 27 March 2001 (A/55/860-S/2001/280), 26 March 2001 (A/55/858-S/2001/278), 19 March 2001 (A/55/842-S/2001/244), 5 March 2001 (A/55/821-S/2001/193), 2 March 2001 (A/55/819-S/2001/187), 14 February 2001 (A/55/787-S/2001/137), 13 February 2001 (A/55/781-S/2001/132), 2 February 2001 (A/55/762-S/2001/103), 25 January 2001 (A/55/748-S/2001/81), 23 January 2001 (A/55/742-S/2001/71), 28 December 2000 (A/55/719-S/2000/1252), 22 November 2000 (A/55/641-S/2000/1114), 20 November 2000 (A/55/634-S/2000/1108) and 2 November 2000 (A/55/540-S/2000/1065).

The State of Israel holds the Palestinian Authority responsible for this attack in the light of its continued incitement to violence and terrorism, its open collusion with terrorist organizations, and the active role played by members of its security services in planning and implementing these attacks. In flagrant violation of signed agreements with Israel, the Palestinian leadership has freed convicted terrorists from prison and granted them safe harbour in the territory under its control.

Moreover, both today’s murder, and the murder of Sarit Amrani that was referred to in my letter dated 20 September 2001 (A/56/386-S/2001/892), come just days after Chairman Arafat called on his forces to cease their fire. Such deadly crimes drain Chairman Arafat’s declarations of their substance. What is required is concerted action that produces tangible results on the ground.

Israel calls, once again, on Chairman Arafat to take the actions to which he has committed himself, namely, to renounce the use of violence and terror and to prevent all acts of terror from being perpetrated against Israeli civilians. The Palestinian leadership must act to end incitement in the official Palestinian media and educational institutions, arrest terrorists engaged in planning attacks against Israel, and desist from harbouring terrorists in the areas under its jurisdiction.

In the wake of the recent terrorist attacks in New York and Washington, D.C., the international community is all the more obliged to unequivocally condemn these actions, make clear that such behaviour has no place in civil society, and call on the Palestinian Authority to renounce all acts of, and support for, terrorism and return to the path of peaceful negotiations. Terrorism cannot be viewed as a remote threat; its very existence is a threat to peace and security in every corner of the world.

I should be grateful if you would arrange to have the text of this letter circulated as an official document of the fifty-sixth session of the General Assembly, under agenda item 166, and of the Security Council.

(Signed) Yehuda Lancry

Permanent Representative