Illegal Israeli actions in OPT – Letter from Palestine

Identical letters dated 24 November 2000 from the Permanent Observer

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

and the President of the Security Council

On 22 November 2000, soldiers of the Israeli occupying forces once more committed wilful killings against Palestinian civilians. The soldiers at an Israeli army checkpoint near the city of Rafah in the Gaza Strip opened heavy fire at an approaching car, killing all three unarmed civilians in the car. The soldiers also fired at a car behind it, killing one passenger and wounding another. Further, on 23 November 2000, in an Israeli-planned assassination, one person was killed when his car was bombed near the Palestinian city of Nablus.

Moreover, the killing and injuring of Palestinians by the Israeli occupying forces continues. In this regard, and in follow-up to my previous letters to you, dated 29 September to 20 November (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), since my last letter to you and as of yesterday, 23 November 2000, the Israeli occupying forces have killed 16 more Palestinians, bringing the total number of deaths to 231 Palestinian civilians. (The names of the 16 martyrs are annexed.) During the same period, many other Palestinian civilians were injured, some of whom remain in critical condition.

I would also like to refer to the letter, dated 20 November, by the Israeli Permanent Representative to the United Nations regarding the explosion of a roadside bomb, which was aimed at a bus and which resulted in the death of two Israeli settlers and the wounding of others, including children. That letter repeats the same Israeli nonsense about Palestinian official responsibility for the attack. The Palestinian Authority made it clear that it does not condone such actions and that it definitely has no responsibility in this regard. Children should always be spared the traumas and atrocities of armed conflict. It must be mentioned, however, that the road on which the bombing occurred is under full Israeli security control and, more importantly, it remains the ultimate responsibility of the occupying Power not to illegally transfer their nationals into the occupied territory in total violation of the Fourth Geneva Convention and the relevant United Nations resolutions.

On Wednesday, 22 November, upon the request of the Arab Group at the United Nations, the Security Council once more considered the extremely dangerous situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory. We reiterate the call that we have repeatedly made to the Council, including during the Council’s most recent debate, to take action in follow-up of the efforts to establish a United Nations Observer Force to be dispatched throughout the territories occupied by Israel since 1967. We believe that the necessary time for ample consultations on the matter has already elapsed and action now is urgently needed, as the situation clearly continues to deteriorate.

I should be grateful if you would arrange to have the text of this letter and its annex distributed as official documents of the tenth emergency special session of the General Assembly 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 24 November 2000 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 security forces in the

Occupied Palestinian Territory, including Jerusalem

(Monday, 20 November, through Wednesday, 23 November 2000)

Monday, 20 November 2000

1. Ibrahim Ahmed Hassan Othman (16 years old)

2. Hamed Jaber

3. Abdullah Mahmoud Al-Farra

Tuesday, 21 November 2000

1. Hammad Othman Al-Sumeri

2. Mohammed Lutfi Massad

3. Mohammed Suliman Abu Obeid

4. Hussein Mohammed Mustafa Derab’ieh

5. Jasser Taleb Al-Nibititi

Wednesday, 22 November 2000

1. Jamal Abdel Qader Abdel Raziq

2. Awni Ismail Daheir

3. Nael Shehdah Al-Lidawi

4. Sami Nasser Abu Laben

5. Najeeb Mohammed Mahmoud Kishtah

6. Ibrahim Hussein Al-Maqnan (15 years old)

Thursday, 23 November 2000

1. Ibrahim Abdel Karim Bini Odeh

2. Maram Emad Ahmed Hassouna (3 years old)

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