Illegal Israeli actions in the OPT – Letter from Palestine

Identical letters dated 30 January 2003 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 commit war crimes, State terrorism and systematic human rights violations against the Palestinian people under its occupation. In waging this vicious military campaign, the Israeli occupying forces continue to kill and wound civilians, destroy properties and impose and inflict collective punishments on the Palestinian people on a daily basis.

  In the two days since my last letter and in the wake of the recent Israeli election in which Mr. Ariel Sharon maintained his leadership of the Israeli government, the Israeli occupying forces have killed several Palestinians, including children, and have continued to destroy Palestinian properties on a wide scale. On Tuesday, 28 January, the occupying forces killed four Palestinians in a raid on the city of Jenin, and wounded one Palestinian journalist, in addition to the killing of three Palestinians in Gaza earlier in the pre-dawn hours of that day. Yesterday, the Israeli occupying forces committed another such willful killing, when they shot dead an 18 year-old Palestinian boy, Nahed Abu Dahrouj, who had driven his flock near Israeli bulldozers that were destroying Palestinian crops in the area in Gaza. 

  Moreover, today, in the city of Al-Khalil, the Israeli occupying forces raided numerous Palestinian homes and offices and destroyed an entire vegetable market by bulldozing an estimated 100 stands in the city’s open-air market. This destructive act of collective punishment is a blatant violation of international humanitarian law, in particular the Fourth Geneva Convention, which is applicable to all of the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem. Further, this action has been committed as part of the overall Israeli policy aiming to destroy all means of livelihood for the Palestinian people; a policy that has caused the virtual collapse of the Palestinian economy. The tragic status of the socio-economic situation of the Palestinian people is one that has been widely document by the United Nations as well as by various international humanitarian organizations. The dire humanitarian crisis being faced by the Palestinian people can only worsen with the continuing perpetration of such Israeli crimes and violations. At the same time, the crippling and destructive Israeli military siege and imposition of curfews on most Palestinian cities continues unabated.

  This crisis situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, can only continue to deteriorate as long as Israel, the occupying Power, continues to believe that it can act against the civilian population under its occupation with impunity. As such, war crimes, State terrorism and systematic human right violations will continue to be perpetrated by the Israeli occupying forces against the Palestinian people, whose suffering and losses will only continue to deepen as they await action by the international community to bring this situation to an end. In this regard, the international community, particularly the Security Council, must take the necessary measures to compel Israel to halt its military campaign and abide by international law, international humanitarian law and the resolutions of the United Nations.

  This letter is in follow-up to my previous 154 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 27 January 2003 (A/ES-10/212-S/2003/101), constitute a basic record of the crimes committed by the Israeli occupying forces 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.

  Accordingly, in follow-up to the above-mentioned letters, I regret to inform you that, since my last letter to you, the Israeli occupying forces have killed at least 12 Palestinians, including children, raising the total number of martyrs to 2,100 Palestinians. (The names of the martyrs that have been identified thus far are contained in the annex to the present letter.) 

  I would 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) Dr. Nasser Al-Kidwa
Ambassador
Permanent Observer of Palestine to the United Nations

Annex to the identical letters dated 30 January 2003 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 Israeli occupying forces

in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including Jerusalem*

(Tuesday, 28 January 2003, through Thursday, 30 January 2003)

    Tuesday, 28 January 2003

1.   Ehab Mohammed Salama (17 years old)

2.   Sabrin Mohammed Salama (12 years old)

3.  Mohammed Ibrahim Al-Atl 

4.   Rashad Bassam Fuad Urabi

5.   Nidal Mohammed Kastoni (17 years old)

6.   Mohammed Abdelfattah Ahmed Al-Tubasi

7.  Yussef Saleh Al-Sa’di

8.  Saeed Mohammed Maddi (16 years old)

    Wednesday, 29 January 2003

1.  Munir Abdelhay Bureiqa’

2.  Nahed Mubarak Abu Dahrouj (18 years old)

    Thursday, 30 January 2003

1.  Fayez Jaber

2.   Badie’ Rafeh Diab Qa’qoor

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 * The total number of Palestinians killed by the Israeli occupying forces since 28 September 2000 is 2,100 martyrs.

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