Illegal Israeli actions in OPT – Letter from Palestine

Identical letters dated 11 February 2004 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

  While Israeli officials continue to make empty claims before the international community regarding Israel’s alleged desire for peace, the actions of the Israeli occupying forces in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, consistently and blatantly belie their words. Israel, the occupying Power, continues to launch military assaults against the Palestinian civilian population under its occupation, killing more people, including women and children, and causing more damage and destruction.

  In the early dawn hours of today, the Israeli occupying forces, backed by tanks, raided the densely populated Shajaiya neighbourhood in Gaza City. At least 12 Palestinians were killed by the occupying forces during the military assault, including Hani Mahmoud Abu Skhaila, a Hamas leader, who had been previously targeted for assassination by the occupying forces. In addition, more than 50 people, including children, were wounded as a result of the assault, several of them critically. The occupying forces also blew up one of the houses in the area during the raid. Also today, the occupying forces shot and killed two Palestinian men in Rafah, bringing the total of casualties in this one day to at least 14 Palestinians.

  That Israeli military assault on Gaza has been carried out on the heels of continuous raids and assaults that have been carried out by the occupying forces throughout the Occupied Palestinian Territory. In recent weeks, in particular, the occupying forces have launched several attacks in the Occupied Gaza Strip, including in densely populated civilian neighbourhoods in Gaza City, killing several civilians, including children and an ambulance medic. The Israeli occupying forces have also repeatedly invaded the Palestinian city of Nablus, carrying out house-to-house raids and searches, arresting Palestinian civilians and bulldozing homes. Indeed, the actions of Israel, the occupying Power, have ensured continued rise of the toll of death and destruction throughout the Occupied Palestinian Territory. In that regard, I regret to inform you that, since our last letter to you, the Israeli occupying forces have killed at least 61 Palestinians. Also, on 14 January 2004, a British national, Thomas Peter Hurndall, who was wounded by the occupying forces on 4 November 2003, died of his wounds.

  In addition to the killing and destruction, the occupying Power also persists in its imposition of stringent restrictions on the freedom of movement of persons and goods throughout the Occupied Palestinian Territory, continuing to severely affect the socio-economic conditions and the dire humanitarian situation on the ground. Moreover, the occupying Power continues to carry out innumerable illegal measures and practices in connection with its ongoing construction of the Wall in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including in and around East Jerusalem. Palestinian land continues to be confiscated, agricultural land and properties continue to be destroyed, and thousands of Palestinian civilians continue to be obstructed from access to their lands, jobs, schools and health care facilities, and continue to be isolated from one another.

  It is clear that through the continuation of such illegal, violent and oppressive actions and practices, Israel, the occupying Power, is assuring the continued rise of tensions, and mounting devastation and desperation throughout the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem. As such, it is refueling the vicious cycle of violence, and undermining any other efforts to calm the situation on the ground and resume peace negotiations.

  The present letter is in follow-up to our previous 179 letters to you regarding the ongoing crisis in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, since 28 September 2000. Those letters, dated from 29 September 2000 (A/55/432-S/2000/921) to 26 December 2003 (A/ES-10/255-S/2003/1206), constitute a basic record of the crimes committed by the Israeli occupying forces against the Palestinian people since September 2000. For all of those 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, it is my profound regret to inform you that, since our last letter, at least 61 Palestinians, including children, have been killed by the Israeli occupying forces, raising the number of martyrs killed since September 2003 to 2,759 Palestinians. (The names of the martyrs that have been identified are contained in the annex to the present letter).

  I would 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 11 February 2004 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 the Israeli occupying forces in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem *
(Saturday, 27 December 2003, to Wednesday, 11 February 2004)

    Saturday, 27 December 2003

 Rajae’i Azmi Rayan 

    Tuesday, 30 December 2003

 Fadel Fawzi Al-Najjar 

    Friday, 2 January 2004

  Mohammed Jaber Hasan Saeed (16 years old)

    Saturday, 3 January 2004

1.   Amjad Bilal Nabil Al-Masri (15 years old)

2.   Amer Kazem Kamel Arafat (17 years old)

3.  Rawhi Hazem Rawhi Shoman 

4.   Mohammed Quis Ismail Al-Masri

5.   Mutasem Mohammed Abu Alhassan (17 years old)

   Monday, 5 January 2004

1.  Maher Taher Abbas Taber

2.   Taj Alain Abdel Karim Sief (16 years old)

    Wednesday, 7 January 2004

1.  Abdelafou Nasouh Al-Qasas

2.  Radwan Ibrahim Al-Attary

3.  Hisham Ahmed Kharyouch 

    Thursday, 8 January 2004

1.  Mahmoud Ibrahim Odeh Al-Kurd

2.  Asaad Saleh Khalil Khileleh

   Sunday, 11 January 2004

  Fuad Kamel Amr Jarwan

   Saturday, 17 January 2004

  Mohammed Khamees Joumaa (17 years old)

   Monday, 19 January 2004

  Farid Khalil Abu Ismail

   Wednesday, 21 January 2004

 Mona Ahmed Ismail

    Thursday, 22 January 2004

  Mohsen Haidar Mohammed Al-Da’our (11 years old)

    Saturday, 24 January 2004

1.  Ahraf Nasr Abdallah Al-Mubayad

2.  Samir Khalil Diab Al-Mubayad

3.   Sa’deh Hussein Al-A’raj

4.  Ziab Fawzi Jaber

    Wednesday, 28 January 2004

1.   Iyad Mahmoud Suliman Al-Ra’yi

2.  Moussa Suliman Dalool 

3.   Ahmed Mohammed Ali Abu Rakab

4.  Marwan Mahmoud Attiyeh Basal

5.  Sameh Kamel To’tah (17 years old)

6.   Othman Mahmoud Jundieh

7.   Sami Mohammed Saleh Badawi (15 years old)

8.   Akram Abdelkarim Abu Ajami (17 years old)

   Friday, 30 January 2004

1.  Mohammed Yussef Al-Ashqar

2.  Mohammed Khalaf Al-Hosni 

3.   Jihad Mohammed Ismail Abu Ghalieh Al-Souwati

   Sunday, 1 February 2004

1.  Shady Riyad Mahmoud Milhem

2.  Baha’ Hatem Joudeh 

3.   Majdy Mahmoud Al-Khatib

4.  Yasser Abdel Hamid Abu Aleish

5.  Mohammed Mahmoud Abu Odeh

    Thursday, 5 February 2004

1.  Aziz Mahmoud Al-Shami 

2.   Tarek Majdy Al-Sousi (12 years old)

   Sunday, 8 February 2004

1.  Ashraf Abu Libdeh

2.   Hassan Ali Rizqeh (17 years old)

   Monday, 9 February 2004

1.  Khalil Ibrahim Bouwadi

2.  Ramy Slah Abu Mandil 

3.   Ahmed Mahdi Awad Amr

   Wednesday, 11 February 2004

1.   Mohammed Ahmed Hals (17 years old)

2.  Mohammed Ayesh Al-Ajleh 

3.   Ahmed Kamal Ahmed Abu Ormaneh

4.  Haytham Ribhi Abed

5.   Hani Mahmoud Abu Skhaila

6.  Ismail Mohamed Abu Alatta

7.  Akram Akilan

8.  Mahdi Yaqoub Zideyeh 

9.   Amer Mohamed Al-Ghamri

10.  Ayman Nasr Al-Shiekh Khalil

11.  Ashraf Farouk Hassanein

12.  Mohammed Jihad Al-Hayek 

13.   Mohammed Zahran Tantawi

14.  Ibrahim Mohammed Za’rab

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 *   The total number of Palestinian martyrs killed by Israeli occupying forces since 28 September 2000 = 2,759.

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