Illegal Israeli actions in OPT – Letter from Palestine

Identical letters dated 31 May 2001 from the Permanent

Observer of Palestine to the United Nations addressed to the

Secretary-General and the President of the Security Council

Israel, the occupying Power, continues with its bloody military campaign against the Palestinian people. Since my last letter to you, dated 21 May 2001 (A/ES-10/88-S/2001/508), Israeli occupying forces have killed five more Palestinians, bringing the total number of Palestinian martyrs to 484 since 28 September 2000 (the names of the martyrs are contained in the annex to the present letter). In addition, I wish to also draw attention to the fact that many more Palestinian civilians continue to be injured, many severely, by the Israeli occupying forces. Furthermore, during this bloody military campaign, Israel, the occupying Power, has repeatedly engaged in war crimes and state terrorism against the Palestinian people.

I would also like to refer to the letter from the Israeli Permanent Representative to the Secretary-General, dated 29 May 2001 (A/56/80-S/2001/524). The letter follows the usual pattern of deception and misinformation. For instance, the letter refers to the incidences that took place near the “village of Isaskar” and the “Jerusalem neighbourhood of Gilo”, attempting to create the false impression that these are in Israel, when in fact they are settlements which were illegally built on Occupied Palestinian Territory. The letter also attempts to wrongly apportion blame and direct accusations at the Palestinian Authority.

The Palestinian Authority has taken a clear position regarding incidents like the bombings which have occurred in Israel, and has condemned all such acts. We reiterate that the Israeli settlers, who have been illegally transferred by the occupying Power to the Occupied Palestinian Territory including Jerusalem, in grave breach of the Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949 and in total violation of relevant United Nations resolutions, remain the exclusive responsibility of the occupying Power.

In general, with the aim of bringing the tragic situation to an end towards a resumption of negotiations between the two sides, the Palestinian side has unambiguously accepted the report of the Sharm el-Sheikh Fact-Finding Committee (the Mitchell Report) and has called for an immediate implementation of all the Committee’s recommendations as a comprehensive package. Most regrettably, the Israeli Government has yet to do the same. The Israeli Government, while indicating general acceptance, nevertheless rejected major parts of the report, including the call for complete cessation of settlement activity.

Since 23 May 2001, the Israeli Government has made several statements implying different conduct on the part of Israeli occupying forces in the occupied Palestinian Territory. The fact of the matter, nevertheless, remains that the Israeli occupying forces have not stopped encroaching and raiding the areas under full Palestinian control, and have not stopped shelling and shooting at the Palestinian people, resulting in the killing and injuring of more Palestinians. Moreover, the Israeli occupying forces, including Israeli tanks, remain in locations and positions which severely restrict the movement of Palestinian persons and goods, leading to the continuation of severe suffering among the entire Palestinian population.

We call for clear Israeli acceptance of the Mitchell Report as a whole, along with the acceptance of the Egyptian-Jordanian Initiative. We call for agreement on a specific timeline for the implementation of those recommendations and the initiative, including the cessation of all settlement activity and the resumption of negotiations on final settlement covering all permanent status issues.

As we have indicated in the past, the international community has a clear responsibility to take the necessary measures to help bring an end to all illegal Israeli actions and atrocities. The international community must enforce the acceptance and the implementation of  the Mitchell Report and the Egyptian-Jordanian Initiative as a possible way out of the current situation.

Further, I am writing this letter in follow-up to my previous letters to you on this grave and ongoing situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including Jerusalem, dated from 29 September 2000 to 21 May 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 and A/ES-10/88-S/2001/508).

I would be grateful if you would arrange to have the text of the present letter and its annex distributed as an official document of the tenth emergency special session of the General Assembly, under agenda item 5, and of the Security Council.

(Signed)  Dr. Nasser Al-Kidwa

Ambassador

Permanent Observer of Palestine to the United Nations

Annex to the identical letters dated 31 May 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, 22 May 2001 through Tuesday, 29 May 2001)

Tuesday, 22 May 2001

Khalid Al-Astal (died from wounds sustained on 18 May 2001)

Thursday, 24 May 2001

1. Shadi Ahmed Siam (18 years old) (deaf)

2. Ala’ Al-Bojy (15 years old)

Tuesday 29 May 2001

1. Ahmed Hussein Holelo

2. Ismail Ashour

__________

* The total number of Palestinian martyrs killed by Israeli occupying forces since 28 September 2000 is 484.