Illegal Israeli actions in OPT/Casualties – Letter from Palestine

Identical letters dated 4 October 2006 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 wage its bloody military campaign throughout the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem. In continuing to pursue its military aggression, Israel has continued to commit systematic human rights violations, war crimes and State terrorism against the Palestinian people under its occupation. Not a single day has gone by, indeed not a single minute has passed, during which the occupying Power has not deliberately engaged in the violation of international law, including international humanitarian law and human rights law, in the Occupied Palestinian Territory.

  Our last letter sent to you detailing the grave situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory was dated 31 August 2006. During that period, the Israeli occupying forces continued to systematically violate the human rights of the Palestinian people by all means and methods. As is apparent from the tragically lengthy list of martyrs (see annex), the occupying forces killed 32 more Palestinian civilians, including women and children, killing on an almost daily basis. Many others have been seriously injured as a result of the persistent use of excessive and disproportionate force by the Israeli occupying forces against the Palestinian civilian population. At the same time, the Palestinian people continued to be subject to the destruction of their homes, properties and infrastructure by the Israeli occupying forces.

  Further, Israel, the occupying Power, continues its military siege with the ongoing imposition of severe restrictions on the movement of persons and goods throughout the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, even during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. These restrictions have severely impacted and debilitated the socioeconomic situation of the Palestinian population under occupation. Such restrictions have only further exacerbated the already dire humanitarian situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, especially in the Gaza Strip.

  The present letter is in follow-up to our previous 264 letters to you regarding the ongoing crisis in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, since 28 September 2000. These letters, dated from 29 September 2000 (A/55/432-S/2000/921) to 31 August 2006 (A/ES-10/357-S/2006/704), constitute a basic record of the crimes being committed by Israel, the occupying Power, against the Palestinian people since September 2000. Moreover, we reiterate that 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, it is my profound regret that since our last letter to you at least 32 more Palestinians, including 10 children, have been killed by the Israeli occupying forces, raising the total number of martyrs killed since September 2000 to 4,242. (The names of the martyrs that have been identified are listed 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 an official 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 4 October 2006 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 * 

(Friday, 1 September 2006, to Wednesday, 4 October 2006)

    Friday, 1 September 2006

1.  Ahmad Abdel Karim Ashour 

2.   Ahmad Ismail Al-Arqam

3.  Ali Issa Al-Nashar

4.  A’ed Abdel Qader Al-Basheeti

5.   Mohammad Fawzi Abu Raideh

6.   Ismail Majid Abu Rok (18 years old)

7.  Mujahed Akram Al-Sabi’ 

   Friday, 8 September 2006

1.  Rasheed Mohammad Zakarneh

2.   Kamel Kayed Zakarneh

3.  Mohammad Abu Al-Rabb

   Saturday, 9 September 2006

 Nasser Mosabah

   Sunday, 10 September 2006

1.   Jihad Abu Snaimeh (14 years old)

2.  Heba Jamal Odeh (8 years old)

    Monday, 11 September 2006

 Anees Tawfeeq Ammour

   Tuesday, 12 September 2006

  Mohammad Amre Awad Shorieh (14 years old)

    Thursday, 14 September 2006

1.  Iyad Mousa Abu Moor 

2.  Jamal Al-Hayek

    Monday, 18 September 2006

1.  Ghafrah Al-Arja

2.  Nabeel Aref Hananni 

   Tuesday, 19 September 2006

 Bushra Sultan

    Wednesday, 20 September 2006

1.   Hanan Mohammad Abu Odeh (15 years old)

2.  Omar Lafi Abu Jarad 

    Thursday, 21 September 2006

1.   Zeidan Abu Rashed (17 years old)

2.  Ali Saqr Dahrouj (17 years old)

3.   Sami Dahrouj (19 years old)

4.  I’timad Ismail Mou’ammar

    Wednesday, 27 September 2006

 Ran Al-Ezz Hammad (14 years old)

    Saturday, 30 September 2006

1.  Hossam Fayex Ghayyad 

2.   Bassam Salamah bin Hamad

   Monday, 2 October 2006

 Hani Ibrahim Al-najjar

    Tuesday, 3 October 2006

 Naji Al-Bardaweel (15 years old)

    Wednesday, 4 October 2006

 Mohammad Odeh

*   The total number of Palestinian martyrs killed by the Israeli occupying forces since 28 September 2000 is 4,242.

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