Mideast situation – Letter from Israel

Letter dated 8 February 2002 from the Permanent Representative of Israel

to the United Nations addressed to the Secretary-General

   I wish to draw your attention to the latest acts of Palestinian terrorism directed against Israel.

  This afternoon, several masked Palestinians attacked an Israeli couple as they strolled along the Armon Hanatsiv promenade in Jerusalem. The woman was stabbed multiple times and critically wounded and was taken to a nearby hospital. Two of the attackers were apprehended by the police, the rest remain at large.

  In a separate attack that occurred at approximately 8 p.m. (local time) on Wednesday, 6 February, a Palestinian terrorist disguised as an Israeli soldier infiltrated Moshav Hamra in the Jordan Valley, whereupon he entered the residence of the Ohana family and took the occupants hostage. He then murdered a mother and her daughter, Miri Ohana, age 40, and Yael Ohana, age 11. St.-Sgt. Moshe Mejos Mekonan, age 33, was also killed in the course of the infiltration and several other Israelis, including civilians, were wounded.

  This attack comes amidst two other alarming incidents that occurred on Wednesday. In one incident, an alert Israeli bus driver helped avert a suicide bombing when he spotted a suspicious passenger with wires protruding from his coat. The driver alerted Israeli soldiers at a nearby checkpoint who detained the terrorist and located his explosive belt. Police sappers later detonated the explosives in a controlled explosion.

  Also on Wednesday, Israeli soldiers seized eight Kassam-2 rockets, complete with warheads and launchers. The rockets, which have a range of 10 to 12 kilometres and are capable of carrying a 4 to 6 kilogram warhead, were hidden in a truck among sacks of flour and crates of fruits and vegetables. The rockets, which were produced in the Palestinian-controlled town of Nablus, were en route to Jenin, which would have put them in range of several Israeli cities.

  These incidents are the latest in the continuing Palestinian campaign of terrorism directed against Israel. Previous attacks have been detailed in my letters dated 28 January 2002 (A/56/798-S/2002/126), 22 January 2002 (A/56/788-S/2002/104), 18 January 2002 (A/56/781-S/2002/86), 16 January 2002 (A/56/774-S/2002/73), 11 January 2002 (A/56/771-S/2002/47), 4 January 2002 (A/56/766-S/2002/25), 13 December 2001 (A/56/706-S/2001/1198), dated 4 December 2001 (A/56/678-S/2001/1150), 30 November 2001 (A/56/670-S/2001/1141), 28 November 2001 (A/56/668-S/2001/1133), 27 November 2001 (A/56/663-S/2001/1121), 12 November 2001 (A/56/617-S/2001/1071), 5 November 2001 (A/56/604-S/2001/1048), 24 October 2001 (A/54/406-S/2001/1011), 19 October 2001 (A/56/492-S/2001/990), 17 October 2001 (A/56/483-S/2001/975), 8 October 2001 (A/56/450-S/2001/948), 5 October 2001 (A/56/444-S/2001/943), 3 October 2001 (A/56/438-S/2001/938), 24 September 2001 (A/56/406-S/2001/907), 20 September 2001 (A/56/386-S/2001/892), 17 September 2001 (A/56/367-S/2001/875), 7 September 2001 (A/56/346-S/2001/858), 4 September 2001 (A/56/331-S/2001/840), 30 August 2001 (A/56/325-S/2001/834), 27 August 2001 (A/56/324-S/2001/825), 13 August 2001 (A/56/294-S/2001/787), 9 August 2001 (A/56/272-S/2001/768), 27 July 2001 (A/56/225-S/2001/743), 26 July 2001 (A/56/223-S/2001/737), 17 July 2001 (A/56/201-S/2001/706), 13 July 2001 (A/56/184-S/2001/696), 3 July 2001 (A/56/138-S/2001/662), 21 June 2001 (A/56/119-S/2001/619), 19 June 2001 (A/56/98-S/2001/611), 18 June 2001 (A/56/97-S/2001/604), 13 June 2001 (A/56/92-S/2001/585), 11 June 2001 (A/56/91-S/2001/580), 4 June 2001 (A/56/85-S/2001/555), 30 May 2001 (A/56/81-S/2001/540), 25 May 2001 (A/56/80-S/2001/524), 18 May 2001 (A/56/78-S/2001/506), 11 May 2001 (A/56/72-S/2001/473), 9 May 2001 (A/56/69-S/2001/459), 1 May 2001 (A/55/924-S/2001/435), 23 April 2001 (A/55/910-S/2001/396), 16 April 2001 (A/55/901-S/2001/364), 28 March 2001 (A/55/863-S/2001/291), 27 March 2001 (A/55/860-S/2001/280), 26 March 2001 (A/55/858-S/2001/278), 19 March 2001 (A/55/842-S/2001/244), 5 March 2001 (A/55/821-S/2001/193), 2 March 2001 (A/55/819-S/2001/187), 14 February 2001 (A/55/787-S/2001/137), 13 February 2001 (A/55/781-S/2001/132), 2 February 2001 (A/55/762-S/2001/103), 25 January 2001 (A/55/748-S/2001/81), 23 January 2001 (A/55/742-S/2001/71), 28 December 2000 (A/55/719-S/2000/1252), 22 November 2000 (A/55/641-S/2000/1114), 20 November 2000 (A/55/634-S/2000/1108) and 2 November 2000 (A/55/540-S/2000/1065).

  The State of Israel holds the Palestinian Authority responsible for the continuation of terrorist operations against Israel in light of its ongoing role in fostering and supporting hatred and terrorism against Israelis, its role in helping to acquire increasingly deadly weapons to target Israeli population centres and its refusal to take concerted action to uproot the infrastructure of terror that has taken root in the territories under its control, including the arrest of known terrorists still at large and protected in its territory. Such behaviour underscores the Palestinian leadership’s unwillingness to become partners in the campaign against terrorism and the insincerity of its repeated assertions to be working towards a cessation of violence and terrorism and a resumption of peaceful negotiations.

  It is truly unfortunate that, even at this late stage, the Palestinian Authority has still failed to fully resolve itself to fight terror. The international community must therefore express its total rejection and condemnation of these acts while making it abundantly clear that support or tolerance for the targeting and threatening of any civilian population is absolutely unacceptable.

  I should be grateful if you would arrange to have the text of the present letter circulated as a document of the fifty-sixth session of the General Assembly, under agenda item 166, and of the Security Council.

(Signed) Yehuda Lancry
Permanent Representative

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