Palestine question/Peace process – Letter from Palestine

Identical letters dated 12 June 1997 from the Permanent Observer of

Palestine to the United Nations addressed to the Secretary-General 

and to the President of the Security Council

Last week, in meetings with some security officials and leaders of the Likud party, the Prime Minister of Israel, Mr. Benjamin Netanyahu, revealed his ideas about a final settlement with the Palestinian side in what can be called "Netanyahu's Plan".  Those ideas include the establishment of a virtual "Greater Jerusalem" under Israeli sovereignty, continuous control over the Jordan Valley, a buffer zone along the borders and annexation of settlement blocs, practically leaving less than half of the occupied territory for the Palestinians and without even geographical contiguity, thus ensuring the prevention of the realization of Palestinian national rights, including the establishment of a Palestinian State.  The plan resembles the notorious Allon plan, a fact that was used by Mr. Netanyahu to gain approval in certain Israeli circles.

Netanyahu's plan comes as the second piece of solid evidence, along with the Government's guidelines, of the conceptual intentions of the Israeli Government and its leader to destroy the Middle East peace process and the agreements reached between the two parties, while trying to replace it with a new framework unilaterally imposed on a the Palestinian side.  The plan, in addition to the Government's continuation of building illegal settlements in Occupied Palestinian Territory, especially in Jabal Abu Ghneim to the south of occupied East Jerusalem, makes a mockery of Security Council resolution 242 (1967), which is the basis of the Middle East peace process and the implementation of which is the goal of the agreements reached between the Government of Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization.  It also makes a mockery of the principles embodied in the mutual recognition between the two sides.

Both the above-mentioned plan and the continuation of illegal Israeli actions in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including Jerusalem, represent another direct challenge to the international community and a gross violation of General Assembly resolution ES-10/2, adopted at its tenth emergency special session, on 25 April 1997.

At this time, I wish to take the opportunity to refer to the letter of the Israeli Chargé d'affaires a.i., dated 5 June 1997 (A/52/173), which represents yet another example of repeated Israeli campaigns aimed at diverting attention from the actual Israeli policies and practices that have caused the current dangerous crisis facing the Middle East peace process.

With regard to the question of Palestine, the issue of land cannot be considered in isolation from the issue of Israeli settler colonialism, which has been waged in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, a major dimension of which is the illegal acquisition by Israel of Palestinian land.  Israel uses any non-Palestinian ownership of land as a tool to challenge Palestinian sovereignty and not as a matter of normal private ownership.  It should also be noted that since its establishment Israel has instituted all types of practical and legal arrangements to prevent land ownership by non-Jews in Israel.

In this context, the Palestinian Authority will permit only the application of existing laws in the Palestinian territory to prevent illegal land sales and transfers and, at the same time, will continue to take the needed measures to inhibit any attempt by persons to take the law into their own hands.

I should be grateful if you would arrange to have the text of the present letter distributed as an official document of the fifty-first session of the General Assembly, under agenda items 33, 35 and 85, and of the Security Council.

(Signed)  Nasser AL-KIDWA        

Permanent Observer of Palestine

to the United Nations     

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