Illegal Israeli actions in OPT/Demolition work at Al-Haram Al-Sharif – Letter from Palestine

Identical letters dated 9 February 2007 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, has committed yet another dangerous violation of its obligations under international law, international humanitarian law and relevant Security Council resolutions. In this regard, Israeli occupying forces yet again proved their belligerence and lack of respect for Muslim Holy sites and the Palestinian people’s right to worship by storming into the Holy Al-Aqsa Mosque Compound today during Friday prayers in Occupied East Jerusalem. More than 300 Israeli occupying forces proceeded to fire rubber bullets and tear gas into the crowds of Palestinian civilians who were barred by Israeli occupying forces from entering Al-Haram Al-Sharif. Israeli occupying forces injured over 20 Palestinians, including children and elderly persons, many seriously. In addition, a number of Palestinians were also illegally arrested by Israeli occupying forces. These events took place while a large number of Palestinians continued to peacefully protest against the condemnable excavation work being carried out by the occupying Power beneath the Holy Al-Aqsa Mosque Compound, and the demolition of the historic road connecting Bab Al-Maghariba with the Holy Al-Aqsa Mosque Compound, which are seriously undermining its foundations and threatening it with collapse.

  The Security Council has repeatedly affirmed the applicability of the Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949 to all the territories occupied by Israel since 1967, including East Jerusalem, and has called upon Israel to abide by the provisions of the Convention. In several of its resolutions, the Council declared all Israeli measures and actions which aim at changing the status of Jerusalem as invalid, and it called upon Israel to rescind all such measures and to desist from further action changing the status of Jerusalem. The above-mentioned Israeli action is obviously another measure aimed at the judaization of the city, creating yet additional facts with regard to the Holy City’s status, thus adversely affecting the outcome of final status negotiations.

  In this regard, and given the extremely important religious and spiritual nature of the issue, we call upon the Security Council to take the necessary steps to address this issue and to have the Israeli action halted and reversed immediately.

  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

Permanent Observer

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