Illegal Israeli actions in OPT – Letter from Palestine

Identical letters dated 27 September 2001 from the Permanent Observer

of Palestine to the United Nations addressed to the Secretary-General

and the President of the Security Council

Yesterday, around midnight (Palestine time), several Israeli tanks and bulldozers moved into a Palestinian-controlled area towards the Palestinian refugee camp in Rafah in the Gaza Strip. Israeli tanks shelled the city while Israeli troops used tank’s machine-guns to fire at the camp. The Israeli attack resulted in the killing of three Palestinian residents of the camp and the injuring of 27 Palestinians, some of whom remain in serious condition. In addition, Israeli tank shells and bulldozers destroyed 16 homes belonging to Palestinian families. Israeli occupying forces committed the above knowing very well that the Palestinian side sent 300 additional Palestinian police to the area of Rafah to ensure calm in the area — a step which was coordinated with the Israeli side. Also today, Israeli occupying forces killed two more Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, including a 15-year-old boy.

This new crime was committed immediately after an important and successful meeting was held between President Yasser Arafat and Foreign Minister Shimon Peres, in which the two sides agreed to take concrete steps to strengthen the ceasefire and to implement Senator Mitchell’s recommendations for the resumption of negotiations and the conclusion of a final settlement. It appeared to be precisely an attempt to destroy the results of the meeting and to prevent any progress on the ground. Influential circles of the Israeli Government have publicly manifested their opposition to taking any serious actions with the aim of changing the situation in a positive way. They tried to make any step in that direction as hard as possible in spite of international efforts, including the increased efforts of the United States Administration in the wake of the tragedy that took place on 11 September 2001.

A glaring example of such Israeli attempts to escalate the conflict was the decision made by the Israeli Government on 24 September 2001 to establish a closed military zone, called a “buffer zone”, in the West Bank along its border with Israel. That “buffer zone” would be 30 kilometres long and approximately 1 kilometre wide creating an area that would be off limits to Palestinians, with the exception of Palestinian inhabitants of the area, who will be required to carry a new Israeli permit. Of course, the international community has already strongly condemned the establishment of such a closed military zone.

I am writing this letter in follow-up to our previous 68 letters addressed to you regarding this grave and ongoing situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including Jerusalem, dated from 29 September 2000 to 17 September 2001 (A/55/437-S/2000/930; A/55/450-S/2000/957; A/55/466-S/2000/971; A/55/474-S/2000/984; A/55/490-S/2000/993; A/ES-10/39-S/2000/1015; A/ES-10/40-S/2000/1025; A/ES-10/42-S/2000/1068; A/ES-10/43-S/2000/1078; A/ES-10/44-S/2000/1093; A/ES-10/45-S/2000/1104; A/ES-10/46-S/2000/1107; A/ES-10/47-S/2000/1116; A/ES-10/48-S/2000/1129; A/ES-10/49-S/2000/1154; A/ES-10/50-S/2000/1173; A/ES-10/51-S/2000/1185; A/ES-10/52-S/2000/1215; A/ES-10/53-S/2000/1247; A/ES-10/54-S/2001/7; A/ES-10/55-S/2001/33; A/ES/10/56-S/2001/50, A/ES-10/57-S/2001/101; A/ES-10/58-S/2001/131 A/ES-10/59-S/2001/156;  A/ES-10/60-S/2001/175; A/ES-10/61-S/2001/189; A/ES-10/64-S/2001/209;  A/ES-10/65-S/2001/226; A/ES-10/66-S/2001/239; A/ES-10/67-S/2001/255; A/ES-10/68-S/2001/284; A/ES-10/69-S/2001/295; A/ES-10/70-S/2001/304; A/ES-10/71-S/2001/314; A/ES-10/72-S/2001/332; A/ES-10/75-S/2001/352; A/ES-10/76-S/2001/372; A/ES-10/79-S/2001/418; A/ES-10/80-S/2001/432; A/ES-10/81-S/2001/447; A/ES-10/82-S/2001/463; A/ES-10/83-S/2001/471; A/ES-10/84-S/2001/479; A/ES-10/85-S/2001/486; A/ES-10/86-S/2001/496; A/ES-10/87-S/2001/504; A/ES-10/88-S/2001/508; A/ES-10/89-S/2001/544; A/ES-10/90-S/2001/586; A/ES-10/91-S/2001/605; A/ES-10/92-S/2001/629; A/ES-10/93-S/2001/657; A/ES-10/94-S/2001/669; A/ES-10/95-S/2001/686; A/ES-10/96-S/2001/697; A/ES-10/97-S/2001/708; A/ES-10/98-S/2001/717; A/ES-10/99-S/2001/742; A/ES-10/100-S/2001/754; A/ES-10/101-S/2001/783; A/ES-10/102-S/2001/785; A/ES-10/103-S/2001/798; A/ES-10/104-S/2001/812; A/ES-10/105-S/2001/814; A/ES-10/107-S/2001/821; A/ES-10/108-S/2001/826; A/ES-10/110-S/2001/855; A/ES-10/111-S/2001/880.)  I regret to inform you that since my last letter to you, dated 17 September 2001, Israeli occupying forces have killed 13 more Palestinians, including the number of martyrs mentioned above. (The names of the martyrs are contained in the annex to the present letter.)

Tomorrow will mark the passage of one year since the infamous visit of Mr. Ariel Sharon to Al-Haram Al-Sharif in Occupied East Jerusalem and the launching of the bloody Israeli military campaign against the Palestinian people, during which State terrorism and war crimes were committed against the Palestinian people. During that period, Israeli occupying forces have killed 646 Palestinian civilians and have injured more than 20,000, many of whom will be left with permanent disabilities.

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) Nasser Al-Kidwa

Ambassador

Permanent Observer of Palestine to the United Nations

Annex to the identical letters dated 27 September 2001 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 Israeli occupying forces in the

Occupied Palestinian Territory, including Jerusalem*

(Tuesday, 18 September, through 27 September 2001)

Tuesday, 18 September 2001

1. Abdel Majeed Daghles

2. Ismaeel Abdel Hadi Al-Dawoodi

Wednesday, 19 September 2001

Malek Abdel Jaber Tameem Salem (from wounds sustained earlier)

Saturday, 22 September 2001

1. Imad Hamdi Saleh Awad (from wounds sustained earlier)

2. Abdel Latif Hassan Radwan

Sunday, 23 September 2001

Nasrallah Mohammed Jarghoun

Tuesday, 25 September 2001

Ommayah Hamdan Abdallah Omran

Wednesday, 26 September 2001

Mahmoud Jalal Qishtah (16 years old)

Thursday, 27 September 2001

1. Khaled Abu Habib

2. Mahmoud Fathi Al-Sha’er

3. Akram Abdel Jawad Abu Libdeh

4. Ali Salem Abu Bileman

5. Moawiah Ali Al-Nahal (16 years old)

_____________

*Total number of Palestinian martyrs killed by Israeli occupying forces since 28 September 2000 = 646.