Illegal Israeli actions in OPT – Letter from Palestine

Identical letters dated 24 June 2002 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

Israel, the occupying Power, continues its brutal military campaign against the Palestinian people and the Palestinian Authority. The Israeli occupying forces continue to terrorize the Palestinian population, causing further death and destruction as they continue to carry out intensive military raids and assaults throughout the Occupied Palestinian Territory.

In the pre-dawn hours (Palestine time) of today, the Israeli occupying forces raided the Palestinian city of Ramallah, with dozens of tanks, armoured personnel carriers and bulldozers, entering the city from all directions. Several tanks and carriers surrounded and even entered the already battered headquarters of President Yasser Arafat, in addition to Israeli snipers that occupied positions around the President’s compound. At the same time, Israeli helicopter gunships continued to circle above the city. Machine gunfire was heard throughout the city, particularly in the area of the Amari refugee camp.

As of this time, the Israeli occupying forces have invaded and reoccupied most of the major Palestinian cities and population centres. The occupying forces have imposed a widespread curfew on the Palestinian population, in addition to the ongoing military siege of Palestinian areas, essentially confining hundreds of thousands of Palestinians to their homes. This has once again brought the already devastated Palestinian socio-economic life to a grinding halt. Moreover, hundreds of Palestinians are now being illegally detained by the occupying forces along with those who continue to be detained following previous raids and round-ups carried out throughout the Occupied Palestinian Territory.

The Israeli occupying forces also continued to pursue the illegal practice of extrajudicial execution. Today, the occupying forces carried out an execution by helicopter gunship missile attack in Rafah in Gaza, killing the targeted person as well as five other Palestinians and wounding several others.

In addition to the continuous and innumerable illegal actions committed by the Israeli occupying forces during recent months, these newest developments, including the call by the Israeli military for more reservists, indeed indicate that the occupying forces are entrenching for a prolonged reoccupation of Palestinian population centres.

  The international community cannot continue to stand idly by while the Palestinian people continue to suffer under the brute force of the Israeli military occupation and continuing Israeli military assaults. The Security Council must carry out its responsibilities for the maintenance of international peace and security. The Council should condemn such illegal Israeli actions and take measures to ensure the immediate withdrawal of the occupying forces from all Palestinian areas. We call once again upon the Security Council to immediately consider the situation and to take the necessary action in this regard, including action to ensure the full implementation of its own resolutions 1402 (2002) and 1403 (2002). 

  In follow-up to my previous 128 letters to you regarding the ongoing crisis in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including Jerusalem, dated from 29 September 2000 to 21 June 2002 (A/55/432-S/2000/921; 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; A/ES-10/112-S/2001/918; A/ES-10/114-S/2001/928; A/ES-10/115-S/2001/932; A/ES-10/116-S/2001/941; A/ES-10/117-S/2001/971; A/ES-10/118-S/2001/989; A/ES-10/119-S/2001/991; A/ES-10/121-S/2001/1007; A/ES-10/122-S/2001/1024; A/ES-10/123-S/2001/1036; A/ES-10/124-S/2001/1084; A/ES-10/125-S/2001/1092; A/ES-10/126-S/2001/1118; A/ES-10/128-S/2001/1149; A/ES-10/129-S/2001/1166; A/ES-10/133-S/2001/1239, A/ES-10/134-S/2001/1261, A/ES-10/136-S/2002/18, A/ES-10/137-S/2002/39, A/ES-10/138-S/2002/48, A/ES-10/139-S/2002/58, A/ES-10/140-S/2002/89, A/ES-10/141-S/2002/95, A/ES-10/142-S/2002/102, A/ES-10/143-S/2002/121, A/ES-10/144-S/2002/142, A/ES-10/145-S/2002/146, A/ES-10/146-S/2002/165; A/ES-10/147-S/2002/175; A/ES-10/148-S/2002/182

, A/ES-10/149-S/2002/190, A/ES-10/150-S/2002/214 A/ES-10/151-S/2002/223; A/ES-10/152-S/2002/232; A/ES-10/154-S/2002/242, A/ES-10/155-S/2002/248, A/ES-10/156-S/2002/249, A/ES-10/157-S/2002/253; A/ES-10/158-S/2002/258; A/ES-10/159-S/2002/281; A/ES-10/160-S/2002/307; A/ES-10/161-S/2002/319; A/ES-10/162-S/2002/330; A/ES-10/163-S/2002/340; A/ES-10/164-S/2002/353; A/ES-10/165-S/2002/356; A/ES-10/166-S/2002/370; A/ES/10/167-S/2002/433; A/ES-10/168-S/2002/474; A/ES-10/169-S/2002/495; A/ES-10/173-S/2002/536;  A/ES-10/174-S/2002/555; A/ES-10/175-S/2002/610; A/ES-10/176-S/2002/617, A/ES-10/177-S/2002/641; A/ES-10/178-S/2002/650; A/ES-10/179-S/2002/654; A/ES-10/180-S/2002/686 and A/ES-10/181-S/2002/697), it is my regret to inform you that, since my last letter to you, at least 2 more Palestinians have been killed by Israeli occupying forces, raising the total number of Palestinian martyrs killed since 28 September 2000 to 1,644 people. (The names of the martyrs that have been identified thus far are contained 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 ) Somaia Barghouti
Chargé d’affaires a.i.

Annex to the identical letters dated 24 June 2002 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 Israeli occupying forces in the

Occupied Palestinian Territory, including Jerusalem^a
(Sunday, 23 June 2002)

1.   Iyad Tayseer Samoudy
2.  Islam Juma’a Arheel

______________

 ^a   The total number of Palestinian martyrs killed by Israeli occupying forces since 28 September 2000 is 1,644.