Identical letters dated 18 June 2008 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 perpetrate systematic human rights violations against the Palestinian people as the occupying forces continue to launch violent attacks, military raids and arrest campaigns in civilian areas throughout the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem. With the continuation of its military campaign, the casualties and destruction being endured by the Palestinian people, especially in the besieged Gaza Strip, continue to mount. Moreover, Israel’s military attacks continue to cause destruction to Palestinian property and infrastructure, in flagrant violation and grave breach of the relevant rules and provisions of international law.
Despite all such violent and unlawful Israeli actions, the Palestinian leadership has continued to exert efforts to diplomatically address the prevailing crisis and to call for calm. As a result, with the support of President Mahmoud Abbas and the Egyptian Government, a ceasefire in Gaza has been agreed upon and will take effect early tomorrow morning, Thursday, 19 June 2008 (Palestine time). This ceasefire should be extended to the remaining parts of the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem. In the meantime, the agreement on a ceasefire in Gaza should lead to the opening of the crossing points in Gaza and bring an immediate end to all Israeli military attacks against the Gaza Strip along with an end to its suffocating and unlawful siege and collective punishment against the 1.5 million Palestinians in Gaza, which has caused vast suffering, deepening poverty and a high incidence of disease and hardship.
On another front, we wish to emphasize the urgency of translating the collective will of the international community concerning Israel’s continuing unlawful and intensifying pursuit of settlement activities in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem. In this regard, there must be immediate action taken to call on Israel, the occupying Power, to completely cease all of its illegal settlement activities, including any construction, expansion and planning of settlements and the construction of the wall, and to dismantle its outposts. It is crucial that the international community address this serious issue, especially given that since the Annapolis Conference seven months ago and despite its pledges and commitments to cease settlement activity, the Israeli Government has actually accelerated its settlement activity throughout the Occupied West Bank, including in Occupied East Jerusalem, further fragmenting the contiguity, integrity and unity of the Palestinian Territory and severely endangering the prospects for real izing the two-State solution. Indisputably, the issue of settlement building by Israel, the occupying Power, is the largest obstacle in the path of the peace process and is dangerously undermining the efforts being exerted by the parties and the international community to bring about peace in the region.
In this regard, we reiterate our call for the Security Council to shoulder its responsibilities and to condemn such unlawful Israeli actions and call for an immediate cessation of all settlement activity by Israel, the occupying Power, in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem. The Council must pronounce itself in a clear and forceful way to help salvage the peace process before Israel’s illegal settlement campaign effectively destroys the peace process in its entirety.
The present letter is in follow-up to our previous 315 letters to you regarding the ongoing crisis in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, since 28 September 2000. Those letters, dated from 29 September 2000 (A/55/432-S/2000/921) to 3 June 2008 (A/ES-10/419-S/2008/365), 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, State terrorism and systematic human rights violations committed against the Palestinian people, Israel, the occupying Power, must be held accountable and the perpetrators must be brought to justice.
In follow-up to the above-mentioned letters, I regret to inform you that, since our letter to you dated 29 April 2008, at least 64 Palestinians have been killed by the Israeli occupying forces, raising the total number of martyrs killed since September 2000 to 5,261 people. (The names of the martyrs that have been identified are included in the annex to the present letter.)
I should 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) Riyad Mansour
Ambassador
Permanent Observer
Annex to the identical letters dated 18 June 2008 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 the Israeli occupying forces in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem *
(from Friday, 2 May 2008, to Tuesday, 17 June 2008)
Friday, 2 May 2008
1. Usama Al-Houbi
Sunday, 4 May 2008
2. Hossam Al-Najjar
Tuesday, 6 May 2008
3. Hisham Shomar
Wednesday, 7 May 2008
4. Mahmoud Abu Moussalam
Friday, 9 May 2008
5. Hamdi Shubair
6. Sami Jameel Abu Anza
7. Omar Daoud Moussa Al-Sir
8. Sameer Jameel Wafi
9. Mohammad Abu Odeh
10. Bassam Abu Shbaika
11. Mohammad Abu Armana
Monday, 12 May 2008
12. Mu’taz Abu Anza
Tuesday, 13 May 2008
13. Tahreer Abdel Ghafour
Wednesday, 14 May 2008
14. Mohammad Mounir Abu Habeeb
15. Hamdi Abdel Majeed Kheder (17)
16. Khedr Slama Kheder (17)
17. Ibrahim Hassan Salha (18)
18. Bassem Mohsen Ashour
19. Mohammad Harara
20. Ahmad Al-Malahi (18)
Thursday, 15 May 2008
21. Maher Al-Najjar
Monday, 19 May 2008
22. Fahmi Al-Dardouk (16)
Tuesday, 20 May 2008
23. Majd Abu Okal (13)
24. Ali Al-Dahdouh
25. Mohammad Khamees Odeh
26. Zayed Abu Wadi (12)
Wednesday, 21 May 2008
27. Mohammad Ahmad Al-Bahabsa
28. Khaled Abdel Hadi
Thursday, 22 May 2008
29. Abdel Kareem Ramadan Ahl
30. Mohammad Ibrahim Nasr
31. Saleh Atwa Al-Bahabsa
Friday, 23 May 2008
32. Ibrahim Madi
33. Muhannad Abu Awwad
34. Mohammad Abu Rizq
35. Ra’ed Jamal Al-Naqa
36. Hossam Abu Abda
Wednesday, 28 May 2008
37. Usama al-Ghotti
38. Abdel Razeq Abu Mu’ammar
Thursday, 29 May 2008
39. Ahmad Al-Ammour
Friday, 30 May 2008
40. Yousra Abu Rouq
Monday, 2 June 2008
41. Sari Abu Samra
Thursday, 5 June 2008
42. Aya Al-Najjar (4)
Friday, 6 June 2008
43. Khalil Sokkar
Saturday, 7 June 2008
44. Bilal Al-Sharbasi
Tuesday, 10 June 2008
45. Mohammad Dolat
46. Khaled Zaki Zuhd
47. Ahmad Al-Safadi
48. Yehya Hameed
49. Mostafa Attallah
Wednesday, 11 June 2008
50. Yasser Abu Haleeb
51. Hadeel Abdel Kareem Al-Somairi (9)
52. Ibrahim Mahmoud Sa’ad
53. Hassan Asaliyya
Friday, 13 June 2008
54. Mostafa Al-Batsh
55. Moussa Hammouda
56. Mahmoud Hadar
Monday, 16 June 2008
57. Mu’taz Tafesh
58. Alaa’ Al-Boraim
59. Mahmoud Abu Shab
Tuesday, 17 June 2008
60. Mohammad Al-Shindi
61. Mu’taz Daghmash
62. Ezz Al-Mozazi
63. Mahmoud Asaliyya
64. Moussa Al-Modaini (10)
* The total number of Palestinian martyrs killed by the Israeli occupying forces since 28 September 2000 is 5,261.
______________
Document Type: Annex, Letter, Palestine letter (Situation in the OPT since 29 September 2000)
Document Sources: General Assembly, General Assembly 10th Emergency Special Session, Security Council
Subject: Agenda Item, Casualties, Ceasefire, Gaza Strip, Settlements
Publication Date: 18/06/2008