Identical letters dated 17 November 2014 from the Permanent Observer of the State of Palestine to the United Nations addressed to the Secretary-General, the President of the General Assembly and the President of the Security Council
I regret that I must once again draw the attention of the international community to the critical situation in Occupied Palestine due to the persistent and escalating acts of violence and other violations being perpetrated by Israel, the occupying Power, and its settlers against the Palestinian people and their land, which has resulted in more killings, injuries and destruction in the days since my last letter to you (A/ES-10/665-5/2014/810).
The continued lack of accountability and culture of impunity that Israel has for too long enjoyed have resulted in a crisis situation in Palestine, as it could not be more apparent that Israel is reading the international inaction as a signal that it can proceed with its illegal occupation measures without consequence. The result is continued deterioration of the situation, rising tensions and grave hardships for the Palestinian people languishing under this illegal, destructive occupation. The volatility of this situation and its negative impact on both peoples and the region has been widely acknowledged, and yet the international community regrettably remains unable to generate the necessary political will to act.
We reiterate our unequivocal condemnation and rejection of all manifestations of Israeli aggression against the Palestinian people and reiterate our urgent appeal to the international community, foremost the Security Council, to act to stem the deterioration of the situation and to salvage the minimal prospects for peace that remain. The persistence and escalation of the violations and provocations being perpetrated on a daily basis by Israeli extremists and occupying forces against our people threaten to ignite another deadly cycle of violence, which must be averted in order to stop the complete unraveling of this fragile situation. We urge the international community to uphold its responsibilities and to act now to compel Israel, the occupying Power, to heed the warnings and to cease all of its illegal actions, provocations and incitement against the Palestinian people and their leadership.
Since our last letter, dated 12 November 2014 (A/ES-10/665-5/2014/810), I must draw attention to some of the very serious incidents that have occurred, including yesterday's hanging of Yusuf Hasan al-Ramouni, age 32, a Palestinian from al-Tur in Occupied East Jerusalem, and a recent pattern that has emerged of Israeli occupying forces shooting Palestinian children in the face, an inhumane and immoral act in absolute violation of international law, including humanitarian and human rights law.
16 November 2014
- Yusuf Hasan al-Ramouni, 32, a Palestinian bus driver, was discovered hanged to death inside his bus at the Har Hotzvim terminal near Jerusalem. His family believes he was beaten by Israeli extremist settlers as his body was found badly bruised and then hung with a thin metal wire.
- Dozens of Palestinians were injured by occupying forces, which shot at protesters in Jerusalem following the discovery of Al-Ramouni's body.
- Israeli occupying forces continue to increase tensions at Al-Aqsa Mosque by restricting the access of Palestinian women to the Holy Site and making entry conditional on handing over their identification cards to the occupying forces, risking confiscation of the cards. Occupying forces assaulted some of the female worshippers using the butt of their rifles.
- A 10-year-old Palestinian boy from Gaza was shot and seriously wounded by occupying forces.
14 November 2014
- Ten-year-old Mayar Amran Tawfik al-Natsheh, a Palestinian girl, was shot in the face by Israeli occupying forces while in a car with her family near the Shufat refugee camp. She is suffering from a fractured skull.
- Israel is preventing Dr. Mads Gilbert, a Norwegian physician who volunteers his medical expertise to the Palestinian people in Gaza, from returning to Gaza indefinitely, obstructing the vital humanitarian assistance he has provided in Palestinian hospitals, including in times of emergency as during the Israeli onslaught in July and August 2014.
13 November 2014
- Eleven-year-old Saleh Samer Attiyeh Mahmoud, a Palestinian boy, was shot in the face by Israeli occupying forces in Al-Issawiya in East Jerusalem. He was hit directly between the eyes causing severe bleeding, impaired vision in his right eye and blindness in his left eye.
The incidents cited offer just a glimpse of the vast unjust, unlawful actions being perpetrated daily against the Palestinian people by Israel, the occupying Power. The humiliation and brutality being suffered by our people at the hands of the occupying Power are only deepening tensions, mistrust and hatred, pushing the two sides further and further apart and making peace ever more elusive. Incidents such as these reconfirm the absolute and total disregard of Israel for Palestinian human rights and dignity and are completely contradictory to what is necessary for promoting calm and de-escalating tensions. Israel must be held accountable for all of its illegal actions, which are the cause of so much suffering for the Palestinian people and which are entrenching its nearly half-century illegal military occupation.
We thus repeat our call upon the international community, including the Security Council, to act to address and defuse this increasingly dangerous situation. The Security Council must shoulder its responsibility, in accordance with its Charter duties and its own resolutions, to contribute to an urgent de-escalation and to provide a path forward towards the long-delayed goal of an end to the Israeli occupation and an end to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict with the achievement of a just, lasting and comprehensive peace settlement on the basis of United Nations resolutions, the Madrid principles and the Arab Peace Initiative. We urge the Security Council to pursue any and all efforts to compel Israel, the occupying Power, to end its illegal policies and practices and to respect forthwith its obligations under international law. This is imperative for salvaging the two-State solution on the basis of the pre-1967 borders and for restoring hope at this time of crisis.
This letter is in follow-up to our 528 letters regarding the ongoing crisis in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, which constitutes the State of Palestine. These letters, dated from 29 September 2000 (A/55/432-5/2000/921) to 12 November 2014 (A/ES-10/665-5/2014/810), constitute a basic record of the crimes being committed against the Palestinian people. Israel, the occupying Power, must be held accountable and the perpetrators must be brought to justice.
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
of the State of Palestine to the United Nations
Document Type: Letter, Palestine letter (Situation in the OPT since 29 September 2000)
Document Sources: General Assembly, General Assembly 10th Emergency Special Session, Secretary-General, Security Council
Country: Palestine
Subject: Access and movement, Agenda Item, Casualties, Children, Gaza Strip, Holy places, Human rights and international humanitarian law, Inalienable rights of the Palestinian people, Incidents, Jerusalem, Living conditions, Occupation, Population, Protection, Security issues, Situation in the OPT including Jerusalem
Publication Date: 17/11/2014