Illegal Israeli actions in the OPT – Letter from Palestine

Identical letters dated 29 April 2002 from the Chargé d’affaires a.i. of the

Permanent Observer Mission of Palestine to the United Nations

addressed to the Secretary-General and the President of the Security Council

The bloody Israeli military onslaught being waged against the Palestinian people and the Palestinian Authority since 29 March 2002 continues. In defiance of the resolutions of the United Nations Security Council, international law and international humanitarian law, the Israeli occupying forces continue to commit human rights violations, war crimes and State terrorism against the Palestinian people under occupation. As the Israeli assaults continue, the death toll and the number of Palestinians injured, many critically, continue to rise. Moreover, the path of destruction being wrought by Israel, the occupying Power, throughout the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including Jerusalem, has left all sectors of Palestinian life in ruins, causing a grave humanitarian situation.

In the pre-dawn hours of today, Israel widened its military campaign with the invasion of the city of Al-Khalil. Israeli occupying forces had already entered the city in the previous week, using helicopter gunship missile fire to carry out the extrajudiciary execution of two Palestinian men in the city on 23 April. However, today the occupying forces launched a full-scale attack in Al-Khalil using tanks, armoured personnel carriers and helicopter gunships. Thus far, at least 9 Palestinians have been killed by the Israeli occupying forces in Al-Khalil today and more than 20 people have been injured. Further, the occupying forces imposed a curfew and raided homes throughout the city, abducting at least 17 Palestinians.

On Friday, 26 April 2002, the Israeli occupying forces once again raided the city of Qalqilya, causing death and destruction of property and terrorizing the civilian population. Using more than a dozen tanks and armoured personnel carriers, the occupying forces stormed into Qalqilya, raiding homes and abducting at least 30 Palestinians. Moreover, at least two extrajudiciary executions were committed by the occupying forces in Qalqilya. Similar raids and abductions were carried out by the Israeli occupying forces in the nearby villages of Beita, Jaba’a and Silt a-Dhar.

As the Israeli military campaign continues, the international community continues to await the implementation of Security Council resolutions 1402 (2002), 1403 (2002) and 1405 (2002), including the dispatch of the United Nations fact-finding team. The repeated Israeli demands to delay the mission as well as the imposition of conditions on the fact-finding team are completely unacceptable. The Security Council must take the necessary measures to ensure that the team is dispatched immediately without any hindrance or pre-conditions.

In follow-up to my previous 118 letters to you regarding the crisis in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including Jerusalem, dated from 29 September 2000 to 22 April 2002  (A/55/432-S/2000/921; A/55/437-S/2000/930; A/55/450-S/2000/957; A/55/466-S/2000/971; A/55/474-S/2000/984; A/55/490-S/2000/993; A/ES-10/39-S/2000/1015; A/ES-10/40-S/2000/1025; A/ES-10/42-S/2000/1068; A/ES-10/43-S/2000/1078; A/ES-10/44-S/2000/1093; A/ES-10/45-S/2000/1104; A/ES-10/46-S/2000/1107; A/ES-10/47-S/2000/1116; A/ES-10/48-S/2000/1129; A/ES-10/49-S/2000/1154; A/ES-10/50-S/2000/1173; A/ES-10/51-S/2000/1185; A/ES-10/52-S/2000/1215; A/ES-10/53-S/2000/1247; A/ES-10/54-S/2001/7; A/ES-10/55-S/2001/33; A/ES/10/56-S/2001/50, A/ES-10/57-S/2001/101; A/ES-10/58-S/2001/131 A/ES-10/59-S/2001/156;  A/ES-10/60-S/2001/175; A/ES-10/61-S/2001/189; A/ES-10/64-S/2001/209;  A/ES-10/65-S/2001/226; A/ES-10/66-S/2001/239; A/ES-10/67-S/2001/255; A/ES-10/68-S/2001/284; A/ES-10/69-S/2001/295; A/ES-10/70-S/2001/304; A/ES-10/71-S/2001/314; A/ES-10/72-S/2001/332; A/ES-10/75-S/2001/352; A/ES-10/76-S/2001/372; A/ES-10/79-S/2001/418; A/ES-10/80-S/2001/432; A/ES-10/81-S/2001/447; A/ES-10/82-S/2001/463; A/ES-10/83-S/2001/471; A/ES-10/84-S/2001/479; A/ES-10/85-S/2001/486; A/ES-10/86-S/2001/496

; A/ES-10/87-S/2001/504; A/ES-10/88-S/2001/508; A/ES-10/89-S/2001/544; A/ES-10/90-S/2001/586; A/ES-10/91-S/2001/605; A/ES-10/92-S/2001/629; A/ES-10/93-S/2001/657; A/ES-10/94-S/2001/669; A/ES-10/95-S/2001/686; A/ES-10/96-S/2001/697; A/ES-10/97-S/2001/708; A/ES-10/98-S/2001/717; A/ES-10/99-S/2001/742; A/ES-10/100-S/2001/754; A/ES-10/101-S/2001/783; A/ES-10/102-S/2001/785; A/ES-10/103-S/2001/798; A/ES-10/104-S/2001/812; A/ES-10/105-S/2001/814; A/ES-10/107-S/2001/821; A/ES-10/108-S/2001/826; A/ES-10/110-S/2001/855; A/ES-10/111-S/2001/880; A/ES-10/112-S/2001/918; A/ES-10/114-S/2001/928; A/ES-10/115-S/2001/932; A/ES-10/116-S/2001/941; A/ES-10/117-S/2001/971; A/ES-10/118-S/2001/989; A/ES-10/119-S/2001/991; A/ES-10/121-S/2001/1007; A/ES-10/122-S/2001/1024; A/ES-10/123-S/2001/1036; A/ES-10/124-S/2001/1084; A/ES-10/125-S/2001/1092; A/ES-10/126-S/2001/1118; A/ES-10/128-S/2001/1149; A/ES-10/129-S/2001/1166; A/ES-10/133-S/2001/1239, A/ES-10/134-S/2001/1261, A/ES-10/136-S/2002/18, A/ES-10/137-S/2002/39, A/ES-10/138-S/2002/48, A/ES-10/139-S/2002/58, A/ES-10/140-S/2002/89, A/ES-10/141-S/2002/95, A/ES-10/142-S/2002/102, A/ES-10/143-S/2002/121, A/ES-10/144-S/2002/142, A/ES-10/145-S/2002/146, A/ES-10/146-S/2002/165; A/ES-10/147-S/2002/175; A/ES-10/148-S/2002/182

, A/ES-10/149-S/2002/190, A/ES-10/150-S/2002/214 A/ES-10/151-S/2002/223; A/ES-10/152-S/2002/232; A/ES-10/154-S/2002/242, A/ES-10/155-S/2002/248, A/ES-10/156-S/2002/249, A/ES-10/157-S/2002/253; A/ES-10/158-S/2002/258; A/ES-10/159-S/2002/281; A/ES-10/160-S/2002/307; A/ES-10/161-S/2002/319; A/ES-10/162-S/2002/330; A/ES-10/163-S/2002/340; A/ES-10/164-S/2002/353; A/ES-10/165-S/2002/356; A/ES-10/166-S/2002/370; A/ES/10/167-S/2002/433 and A/ES-10/168-S/2002/474), it is my profound regret to inform you that, since my last letter to you, it has been revealed that at least 38 Palestinians have bee n killed by the Israeli occupying forces. This raises the total number of Palestinians killed by the occupying forces to 1,465 martyrs.

Once again, owing to the extremely difficult circumstances in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, we have been unable to compile a complete and accurate list of all of the Palestinian martyrs killed by the Israeli occupying forces. The annex to the present letter contains the names of the martyrs that have thus far been identified, and the names of the other Palestinians that have been killed will be conveyed once they have been identified.

  I should be grateful if you would arrange to have the text of 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) Somaia Barghouti 
Chargé d’affaires a.i.

Annex to the identical letters dated 29 April 2002 from the Chargé d’affaires a.i.

of the Permanent Observer Mission of Palestine to the United Nations

addressed to the Secretary-General and the President of the Security Council

Names of martyrs killed by Israeli occupying forces in the

Occupied Palestinian Territory, including Jerusalem*

(Tuesday, 23 April to Monday, 29 April 2002)

   Tuesday, 23 April 2002

1.  Marwan Zaloum

2.  Samir Abu Rajab

3.   Amin Ziad Ali Thawabteh (13 years old)

    Wednesday, 24 April 2002

1.   Yusef Basel Zaqout (14 years old)

2.   Ismail Mohammed Abu Nadi (13 years old)

3.   Wael Anwar Abu Nadi (13 years old)

4.   Asaad Faisal Arsan (10 years old)

5.   Yaqoub Ismail Aseefan Al-Tarayreh

6.   Mohammed Abdel Halim Al-Tarayreh

7.   Ibrahim Abdel Rineem Ahmed Al-Mabhouh

8.   Ehab Ibrahim Abdel Riheem Al-Mabhouh

9.  Ahmed Shaker Abu Own 

10.   Jameel Tawfiq Eissa Ararawi

11.   Majdy Naji Mohammed Khlayleh (15 years old)

   Thursday, 25 April 2002

1.  Ahmed Tawfiq Ahmed Bisheer

2.  Ibrahim Mustafa Abdeen 

3.   Essam Jawabreh

4.  Ra’ed Omran Al-Khateeb

    Friday, 26 April 2002

1.  Ra’ed Moussa Mady Nizal

2.  Zuheir Ahmed Al-Qidra

3.   Iman Mohammed Abu Khoseh (17 years old)

   Saturday, 27 April 2002

1.  Mohammed Samir Shamekh Al-Dibs

2.  Abdel Latif Sulimen Al-Masri

    Sunday, 28 April 2002

1.  Areefa Mohammed Ahmed Zaghad

2.  Osama Mohammed Mahmoud Jabareen (16 years old)

   Monday, 29 April 2002

1.  Raja’e Fawzi Abu Shama

2.  Amjad Yasser Katba

3.   Muzer Badr Katba

4.  Huseen Odeh

5.   Akram Jumah Al-Hammouri

6.  Nidal Nyeem Abayyat 

7.   Nader Amran Shahine

8.  Tareq Rasmi Dofash

9.   Sa’da Abdel Latif Mahmoud Najm

10.  Ibrahim Yasser Shahine 

11.   Firas Yasser Shahine

12.  Mahmoud Al-Qanni

13.   Khaled Habash

____________

 *   The total number of Palestinian martyrs killed by Israeli occupying forces since 28 September 2000 is 1,465.