Illegal Israeli actions in OPT – Letter from Palestine

Identical letters dated 28 June 2002 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 to commit human rights violations, war crimes and State terrorism against the Palestinian people. The bloody military campaign being carried out by the Israeli occupying forces throughout the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including Jerusalem, since 28 September 2000 is now entering its twenty-second month.

As of this time, the Israeli occupying forces have invaded and reoccupied seven of the major Palestinian cities. The cities of Ramallah, Bethlehem, Nablus, Qalqilya, Tulkarem, Jenin and Al-Khalil, as well as adjacent villages and refugee camps, remain under strict Israeli military siege. In addition, the occupying forces, using all means of heavy weaponry, have continued killing Palestinians, including children, committing extrajudiciary executions, destroying homes and properties, raiding and searching homes, abducting and detaining Palestinians and obstructing the access of medical personnel.

In Ramallah, the Israeli military siege of the headquarters of President Yasser Arafat continues, with the safety and well-being of President Arafat, as well as other persons inside the headquarters, in constant danger. The situation in Al-Khalil, which has been declared by the occupying forces to be a closed military zone, also continues to be particularly grave. Since Tuesday, 25 June, the Israeli occupying forces have besieged the Palestinian Authority’s security headquarters in the city. That building is being destroyed as the occupying forces continue to attack it with helicopter gunship missiles, tank shells, machine-gun fire and bulldozers, and the lives of those who potentially remain inside are being seriously endangered.

Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians are being confined to their homes as they are being subjected to 24-hour curfews imposed by the occupying forces. The socio-economic despair of the Palestinian people is deepening and the humanitarian crisis is becoming more grave with each passing day. The curfews have prevented Palestinians from having access to work, trade, education and proper medical care and have precluded any semblance of normalcy in all aspects of daily life. Further, access to food and other basic necessities, which continue to be in severe shortage, has also been seriously obstructed by the occupying forces. In cases where the curfews have been lifted after several days, they are usually lifted for only about two hours and Palestinians must spend most of that brief time trying to cross, typically on foot, one of the many Israeli checkpoints and blockades erected throughout the Occupied Palestinian Territory. Moreover, they, Palestinian men, women and children, are frequently subjected to humiliation and harassment, including physical, by the occupying forces at these numerous checkpoints and blockades.

As the situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including Jerusalem, continues to deteriorate with the ongoing assaults by the Israeli occupying forces against the Palestinian people and the Palestinian Authority, it is incumbent upon the international community, in the interest of international peace and security, to take action. Indeed, while the attention of the international community appears to be diverted, the Palestinian people continue to suffer under the brute force of constant Israeli military assaults, and the humanitarian crisis in the Occupied Palestinian Territory continues to worsen.

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 24 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; A/ES-10/181-S/2002/697 and A/ES-10/182-S/2002/699), it is my deep regret to inform you that, since my last letter to you, at least 12 more Palestinians have been killed by Israeli occupying forces, raising the total number of Palestinian martyrs killed since 28 September 2000 to 1,656. (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) Dr. Nasser Al-Kidwa
Ambassador
Permanent Observer of Palestine to the United Nations

Annex to the identical letters dated 28 June 2002 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^a
(Monday, 24 June 2002 through Thursday, 27 June 2002)

   Monday, 24 June 2002

1.   Yasser Mohamed Omar
2.  Yasser Rizq
3.  Bassam Rizq
4.  Yussef Rizq
5.   Midhat Al-Abed Al-Wahab Al-Jurani (17 years old)
6.   Amir Mohamed Qoufeh

   Tuesday, 25 June 2002

1.  Ashraf Ibrahim Zeeb
2.  Mohamed Mijahed Attalah Al-Awawdeh
3.  Khaled Yussef Al-Jameezy
4.  Mohamed Nafez Abu Murseh (19 years old)

   Wednesday, 26 June 2002

1.  Zaki Mahmoud Mohamed Ayash (19 years old)

   Thursday, 27 June 2002

1.  Bassam Ghassan Ragheb Al-Sa’adi (7 years old)

_____________

 ^a   The total number of Palestinian martyrs killed by Israeli occupying forces since 28 September 2000 is 1,656.