Illegal Israeli actions in OPT – Letter from Palestine

Identical letters dated 14 October 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 militantly to pursue its policy of extrajudiciary executions, compounding the countless war crimes and acts of State terrorism against the Palestinian people for which it must be held accountable. Yesterday, 13 October 2002, Mohammed Abayat was killed when a public telephone exploded in his hand outside a hospital in Beit Jala where his mother is a patient. This latest extrajudiciary execution carried out by Israel, the occupying Power, comes after 22 other Palestinian civilians, including children, were killed in cold blood by Israeli occupying forces since our last letter dated to you on Monday, 7 October 2002.

In the early morning hours of yesterday (Palestine time), a three-year-old boy was also killed when Israeli occupying forces blew up several Palestinian homes in Rafah, causing part of a house to collapse and crush him. In addition to the death of the young child, scores of Palestinian civilians were injured, many of them critically. Moreover, in Jenin, an Israeli tank opened fire on a taxi van, killing a Palestinian woman and wounding two young girls.

It has become apparent that wilful killings of Palestinian civilians have become a pattern of behaviour by Israeli occupying forces. This behaviour has been tragically illustrated on far too many occurrences. For instance, on Friday, 11 October 2002, Israeli occupying forces killed a 60-year-old Palestinian woman as she sat on the veranda of her house in Nablus. Also, on Thursday, 10 October 2002, Israeli tank fire killed a 12-year-old and an 18-year-old boy during an Israeli raid into the Rafah refugee camp.

The international community cannot stand idly by while the Israeli occupying forces continue to carry out this bloody and brutal military campaign against the Palestinian people. Israel, the occupying Power, cannot continue to carry out such war crimes, State terrorism and systemic human rights violations against the Palestinian people under its occupation with impunity. The international community must bring an immediate end to all Israeli crimes and bring all perpetrators of these crimes to international justice.

In follow-up to my previous 141 letters to you regarding the ongoing crisis in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including Jerusalem, dated from 29 September 2000 to 7 October 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/2000/1206; 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-10/111-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/2002/186; 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/2002/245; 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/2002/361; 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; A/ES-10/182-S/2002/699; A/ES-10/183-S/2002/717; A/ES-10/184-S/2002/738; A/ES-10/185-S/2002/827; A/ES-10/190-S/2002/891; A/ES-10/192-S/2002/976; A/ES-10/193-S/2002/983; A/ES-10/194-S/2002/1052; A/ES-10/195-S/2002/1066; A/ES-10/196-S/2002/1083; A/ES-10/197-S/2002/1094; A/ES-10/198-S/2002/1104; and A/ES-10/199-S/2002/1114), it is my regret to inform you that, since my last letter to you, at least 22 Palestinians, including children, have been killed by Israeli occupying forces, raising the total number of Palestinian martyrs killed since 28 September 2000 to 1,877. (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 an official 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 14 October 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^*
(Monday, 7 October 2002, through Monday, 14 October 2002)

   Monday, 7 October 2002

  Ahmed Salah Eid (in addition to the names of the martyrs included in the letter dated Monday, 7 October 2002)

   Tuesday, 8 October 2002

1.   Mohammed Hashem Al-Astal (from wounds sustained on Monday, 7 October 2002, during the Khan Yunis missile attack)

2.   Mahmoud Judah Al-Astal (from wounds sustained on Monday, 7 October 2002, during the Khan Yunis missile attack)

3.  Maysa Imad Zanoun

    Wednesday, 9 October 2002

1.  Ahmed Khalil Radwan 

2.   Mohammed Moussa Ashoor (16 years old)

    Thursday, 10 October 2002

1.   Tha’er Salah Al-Hoot (12 years old)

2.  Ehab Fathi Al-Mughair 

3.   Badr Mohammed Amer Badr

   Friday, 11 October 2002

1.  Tareq Abdel Karim Qudeeh 

2.   Fathiyeh Abdallah Al-Sufi

3.   Shaden Abdel Qader Al-Saleh Abu Hijleh

    Saturday, 12 October 2002

1.  Arafat Selim Qudeeh 

2.   Taher Mohammed Hassan Qanb

   Sunday, 13 October 2002

1.  Tawfiq Hussam Bereekah (three years old)

2.   Ibrahim Mohammed Al-Ghouti

3.  Ayman Ahdiyan Al-Akhras 

4.   Ashraf Omar Dawood

5.  Mohammed Abed Mohammed Abayat

6.  Yousra Abdel Rahman Yussef Sawalheh

   Monday, 14 October 2002

1.  Wisam Ahmed Mohammed Saba’aneh

2.   Mohammed Nafe’a Abdel Qader Moussa

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^*The total number of Palestinian martyrs killed by Israeli occupying forces since 28 September 2000 is 1,877.

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