Situation in the OPT/Peace process – Letter from Palestine

GENERAL ASSEMBLY SECURITY COUNCIL

Fifty-second session Fifty-third year

Agenda items 36, 37 and 87

QUESTION OF PALESTINE

THE SITUATION IN THE MIDDLE EAST

REPORT OF THE SPECIAL COMMITTEE

  TO INVESTIGATE ISRAELI PRACTICES

  AFFECTING THE HUMAN RIGHTS OF THE

  PALESTINIAN PEOPLE AND OTHER ARABS

  OF THE OCCUPIED TERRITORIES

Letter dated 1 April 1998 from the Permanent Observer

of Palestine to the United Nations addressed to the

Secretary-General

I wish to follow up my previous letters regarding the reckless statements being constantly made by officials of the Israeli Government, which serve only to further damage the fragile fabric of the Middle East peace process and clearly demonstrate the established policy of this Government to continue violating international law and United Nations resolutions.

On Tuesday, 31 March 1998, Mr. Benjamin Netanyahu, Prime Minister of Israel, visited an illegal Israeli settlement in the West Bank, Maale Adumim, where he proceeded to call the settlement a "part of greater Jerusalem" and stated "we are putting efforts into the growth of this place".  The promotion of ideas such as "greater Jerusalem" or "greater Israel" should be condemned in the strongest possible terms, as they are obvious reflections of expansionist colonialist policies.  These recent statements are in direct violation of Security Council and General Assembly resolutions on the status of Jerusalem and in defiance of the position of every single other Member State of the United Nations.  Such statements also violate the agreements reached between the two sides, which leave the future of Jerusalem subject to negotiations between the two sides during the final status stage.

It is also relevant to note that the above statements were made only one day after the conclusion of the visit to the region by the Special Envoy to the Middle East peace process of the United States of America, Mr. Dennis Ross, which did not produce any tangible results owing to continuing intransigence by Israel and attempts to evade its obligations under the agreements reached.  Clearly, these statements only reaffirm Israeli negative intentions in this regard.

I should be grateful if you would arrange to have the text of the present letter distributed as an official document of the fifty-second session of the General Assembly, under agenda items 36, 37 and 87, and of the Security Council.

      (Signed)  Dr. Nasser AL-KIDWA

   Permanent Observer of Palestine

                                             to the United Nations

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