Illegal Israeli actions in OPT – Letter from Palestine

Identical letters dated 17 September 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 under occupation. The Israeli Government appears to be taking advantage of the shift in the attention of the entire world as a result of the heinous acts of terrorism which took place in the United States on 11 September 2001. Since 11 September 2001, Israeli occupying forces have brutally killed 25 Palestinians. Along with the recent killings of Palestinian civilians, Israeli tanks have entered several Palestinian cities, including the city of Jenin, destroying several buildings and causing widespread fear and panic to spread among the Palestinian population living in the area.

The Israeli side also declared its intention to establish the so-called buffer zones along the border between Israel and the occupied territory. Such a step, if implemented, would only add to the misery of the Palestinian people and create an immense negative impact for the entire situation. While taking these actions, the Government of Prime Minister Ariel Sharon cancelled a high-level meeting between the two sides and began setting new conditions for such meetings to take place. The Israeli Government also made many condemnable and provocative statements directed at the Palestinian leadership, which only appear to aim at undermining the united international front sought to confront international terrorism.

I am writing this letter in follow-up to our previous 67 letters addressed to you regarding this grave and ongoing situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including Jerusalem, dated from 29 September 2000 to 28 August 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; 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 and A/ES-10/107-S/2001/821; A/ES-10/108-S/2001/826; and A/ES-10/110-S/2001/855.)  I regret to inform you that, since my last letter to you, Israeli occupying forces have killed 48 more Palestinians, including the number of martyrs mentioned above. (The names of the martyrs are contained in the annex to the present letter.) These deaths raise the total number of Palestinian martyrs killed by the Israeli occupying forces since 28 September 2000 to 633 people. Moreover, the total number of Palestinian civilians injured, many severely and permanently, also continue to rise each day.

I would be grateful if you would arrange to have the text of 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 17 September 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*

(Wednesday, 28 August through Monday, 17 September 2001)

Tuesday, 28 August 2001

1. Mohamed Marzouk Samour

2. Nasser Riyad Zo’rob (17 years old)

Wednesday, 29 August 2001

1. Imad Salim Hazahza (17 years old)

2. Mohamed Jouma’a Al-Hamrani

3. Heydar Jadoua Kanaan Al-Khateeb

4. Abdoudy Kamel Attiyah Dababsah

Thursday, 30 August 2001

1. Moussa Safi Kadimat

2. Dawood Saleh Fahmawi

3. Samy Samir Baroud

Saturday, 1 September 2001

1. Tayseer Ziad Khattab

2. Abeer Abu Salha

Sunday, 2 September 2001

1. Alaa Younes Theeb Rafaiah

2. Mohamed Idrees Fayez Ashour

Monday, 3 September 2001

1. Amjad Majed Al-Jamal

2. Imad Essam Al-Batsh

Tuesday, 4 September 2001

1. Khaled Mustafa Awajah (from wounds sustained on 30 August 2001)

Thursday, 6 September 2001

1. Omar Mahmoud Soboh

2. Mustafa Ahed Anbas

Saturday, 8 September 2001

1. Eiz Eldin Mahmoud Issa

2. Mohammed Samir Abu Libdeh (13 years old)

Sunday, 9 September 2001

1. Nassim Ahmed Abu Assi

Monday, 10 September 2001

1. Fayeq Ahmed Abu Siyam

Tuesday, 11 September 2001

1. Iyad El-Masri (18 years old)

2. Ibrahim Al-Fayed

3. Mohammed Abu Shakfah

Wednesday, 12 September 2001

1. Tawfiq Jaber Abu Sharar

2. Tha’er Mohammed Mahdawy

3. Muhanad Raja Abu Al-Hayja

4. Wael Mutlaq Saeed Asaf

5. Asa’ad Duqaa

6. Belqes Fathi Al-Ardah (10 years old)

7. Shaher Ahmed Bani Odeh

8. Amer Hamdy Ziadah

Thursday, 13 September 2001

1. Raafat Mohammed Hmeedan

2. Khatab Abdel Fatah Dabarein

3. Rajaa Saleh Mahmoud Friyhat

4. Fakhry Mustafa Khalil (Husband of Rajaa Saleh Mahmoud Friyat)

5. Sofian Al-Aredah (from sustained wounds)

Friday, 14 September 2001

1. Ramzy Khalil Hassounah (17 years old)

Saturday, 15 September 2001

1. Imad Atta Sowilam Zo’rob (14 years old)

2. Mohammed Waleed Al-Dajani (18 years old)

3. Ammar Yasser Khalaf

Sunday, 16 September 2001

1. Ali Khadar Al-Yassini

2. Sa’aediyah Al-Bakri

3. Yehia Sobayha

Monday, 17 September 2001

1. Mohammed Ghazi Shinwani (from wounds sustained on 13 September 2001)

2. Mohammed Ramadan Al-Kafarnah (from wounds sustained on 14 September 2001)

3. Abdel Salam Alleyan

____________

* Total number of Palestinian martyrs killed by Israeli occupying forces since 28 September 2000  =  633.