Situation in the OPT/Killing of Palestinian workers – Letter from Japan

GENERAL ASSEMBLY SECURITY COUNCIL

Forty-fifth session Forty-fifth year

Item 35 of the preliminary list*

THE SITUATION IN THE MIDDLE EAST

Letter dated 31 May 1990 from the Permanent Representative of

Japan to the United Nations addressed to the Secretary-General

Upon the instructions of my Government, and further to its statement dated 22 May 1990 (A/45/286), I would like to elaborate the position of the Government of Japan on the recent wave of violence in the occupied territories and particularly the shooting of Palestinian people by an Israeli civilian on 20 May.

The Government of Japan extends its sincere condolences to the Palestinians who were injured and to the families of those killed in the massacre by an Israeli civilian in Rishon le Zion on 20 May and in the ensuing popular protests.

The Government of Japan deplores the shooting as a senseless and brutal act which claimed the lives of innocent people. It denounces the excessive force with which the Israeli authorities reacted to the subsequent popular demonstration of anger.

This killing of innocent people has exacerbated a situation where tensions had already been heightened by the question of the emigration of Soviet Jews to Israel.

Profoundly concerned about the escalation of violence, the Government of Japan demands that the Government of Israel exercise maximum self-restraint in dealing with the Palestinians in the occupied territories and that it treat them with full humanitarian consideration in accordance with international law. The Government of Japan urges the United Nations to take effective action in order to secure their just treatment.

At the root of this tragic situation is the fact that the provisions of Security Council resolutions 242 (1967) and 338 (1973) have not been implemented and that peace in the Middle East remains an elusive goal.

In the mean time, the Palestinians in the occupied territories have been forced to endure conditions of severe political, economic and social hardship. In order to free them from these conditions and to prevent the recurrence of such tragic incidents, it is imperative that a just, lasting and comprehensive peace be achieved, with Israel's withdrawal from all the territories it has occupied since 1967. Toward this end, Japan hopes that a new Israel Government will be formed as quickly as possible and that it will respond in good faith to the efforts made by the parties concerned toward an early achievement of peace in the Middle East.

I should be grateful if you would arrange to have this letter circulated as an official document of the General Assembly, under item 35 of the preliminary list, and of the Security Council.

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       * A/45/50.