UNITED NATIONS
General Assembly
Security Council
Distr.
GENERAL
A/50/168
S/1995/341
28 April 1995
ORIGINAL: ENGLISH
GENERAL ASSEMBLY SECURITY COUNCIL
Fiftieth session Fiftieth year
Items 42, 44, 84, 85 and 149 of
the preliminary list*
QUESTION OF PALESTINE
THE SITUATION IN THE MIDDLE EAST
UNITED NATIONS RELIEF AND WORKS
AGENCY FOR PALESTINE REFUGEES
IN THE NEAR EAST
REPORT OF THE SPECIAL COMMITTEE TO
INVESTIGATE ISRAELI PRACTICES
AFFECTING THE HUMAN RIGHTS OF THE
PALESTINIAN PEOPLE AND OTHER
ARABS OF THE OCCUPIED TERRITORIES
MEASURES TO ELIMINATE INTERNATIONAL
TERRORISM
Letter dated 28 April 1995 from the Permanent Observer
of Palestine to the United Nations addressed to the
Secretary-General
I have been instructed to bring the following to your immediate attention.
The Israeli Government has taken a dangerous and destructive step as part of its overall illegal practices and policies in the occupied Palestinian territory, including Jerusalem. Yesterday, the Government declared confiscation orders of 53 hectares of Palestinian land within the area of illegally annexed East Jerusalem. Thirty-three hectares are near Beit Hanina and the other 20 hectares are located near Beit Safafa. The Government also declared that the land would be appropriated to build further illegal Israeli settlements.
Such an action flagrantly violates international humanitarian law and relevant Security Council resolutions, as well as the Declaration of Principles on Interim Self-Government Arrangements, signed on 13 September 1993 by the Government of Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization.
The General Assembly and the Security Council have repeatedly confirmed the applicability of the Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949 to the Palestinian territory occupied by Israel since 1967, including Jerusalem. Both bodies also repeatedly affirmed that Israeli measures and actions which aim to alter the status of Jerusalem are null and void and called upon Israel to rescind all such measures and to refrain from taking any such steps in the future.
In the Declaration of Principles, the two parties agreed that permanent status negotiations on remaining issues, including Jerusalem, would commence as soon as possible, but not later than the beginning of the third year of the interim period. This recent action taken by the Israeli Government greatly endangers negotiations and represents a clear attempt to prejudge their outcome. This seriously undermines the peace process as a whole and shatters confidence in the commitment made by the Israeli Government.
I must also refer to other equally illegal actions by the Israeli authorities in and around Jerusalem, including the continuing seizure and closure of the city in the face of the Palestinian people. Israeli digging in the vicinity of Al-Haram Al-Sharif has almost reached Al-Aqsa mosque and threatens its integrity and foundations, as do the repeated attacks and attempts by illegal settlers and religious fanatics to impose their presence on, and overtake, Al-Haram Al-Sharif.
We formally call upon the Security Council to take urgent measures to redress this grave situation and bring an end to the above-mentioned Israeli violations. We believe that the Council has the duty to order the Israeli authorities to desist from taking any further illegal measures and, specifically, to rescind the declared confiscation orders.
I would be grateful if you would arrange to have the text of the present letter distributed as an official document of the General Assembly, under agenda items 42, 44, 84, 85 and 149 of the preliminary list, and of the Security Council.
(Signed) Dr. Nasser AL-KIDWA
Permanent Observer of Palestine
to the United Nations
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________________________
* A/50/50.
Document Type: Letter
Document Sources: General Assembly, Security Council
Subject: Agenda Item, Jerusalem, Land, Settlements
Publication Date: 28/04/1995