Illegal Israeli actions in the OPT – Letter from Palestine

Identical letters dated 13 January 2006 from the Permanent Observer of Palestine to the United Nations addressed to the Secretary-General and the President of the Security Council

  

  

  The situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, continues to deteriorate due to the Israeli military assault being carried out against the Palestinian people. Over the past several days, the Israeli occupying forces have laid siege on the West Bank town of Jenin, preventing residents from freely moving into and out of the city while carrying out repeated military invasions against the Palestinian civilian population. The siege, which has strictly barred the Palestinian residents of Jenin from leaving or reaching other nearby towns and villages, came during the Muslim holiday of Eid Al-Adha, when Muslims traditionally spend the day visiting family and friends. Today, the siege continues, and Israeli occupying forces, backed by over 30 military vehicles and an armed bulldozer, entered the Jenin refugee camp and killed two Palestinian civilians. During the same incursion, Israeli occupying forces forcibly entered and ransacked several Palestinian homes, detaining a number of Palestinians.

  In addition, the Israeli occupying forces have further tightened the closures imposed on the northern areas of the West Bank from the rest of the Occupied Palestinian Territory, preventing Palestinian residents from travelling to Ramallah and areas in the south. The travel ban, which has been imposed by the occupying forces since the second week of December 2005, has affected over 800,000 Palestinians of the West Bank cities of not only Jenin, but also Tulkarem and Nablus and their surrounding villages. As of 2 January 2006, the ban applied only to Palestinians residing in Jenin and Tulkarem. However, since then, it has been extended to Palestinians residing in Nablus. This travel ban constitutes a blatant form of collective punishment against the civilian Palestinian population, an action strictly prohibited under international humanitarian law. This siege has not only isolated the Palestinian people from the outside world, but has also immobilized them even within their towns and villages, preventing them from carrying out even the most basic daily activities. This siege has gravely intensified the socio-economic hardships being suffered by the entire Palestinian population.

  As the Israeli occupying forces continue to commit breaches of international law and human rights violations against the Palestinian people on a daily basis, they seriously risk further aggravating the already tense and grave situation on the ground in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem. Measures must be undertaken to ensure that Israel complies with international law, including international humanitarian law, and all other existing agreements signed between the two sides. Only under such conditions can the situation be prevented from further and irreparably deteriorating and can a climate truly conducive to the pursuit of peace actually emerge and thrive.

  This letter is in follow-up to our previous 228 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 5 January 2006 (A/ES-10/314-S/2006/11) constitute a basic record of the crimes committed by Israel, the occupying Power, 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, it is my profound regret to inform you that, since our last letter to you, at least two more Palestinians have been killed by the Israeli occupying forces, raising the total number of martyrs killed since September 2000 to 3,806. (The names of the martyrs that have been identified are listed 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. Riyad Mansour 

Ambassador

Permanent Observer of Palestine to the United Nations


    Annex to the identical letters dated 13 January 2006 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 the Israeli occupying forces in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem *

 

 

 

Friday, 13 January 2006

 1.  Motaz Abu Khalil 

 2.  Ali Abu Khazana

 

 

*   The total number of Palestinian martyrs killed by the Israeli occupying forces since 28 September 2000 is 3,806.

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2019-03-11T21:24:04-04:00

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