Situation in the OPT – Letter from CEIRPP Chairman

 Letter dated 20 April 2005 from the Chairman of the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People addressed to the Secretary-General

  In my capacity as the Chairman of the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People, I wish to express the Committee’s deep concern at Israel’s recent activities aimed at expanding its settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory.

  On 18 April 2005, the Israel Lands Authority announced that tenders had been issued for the construction of 50 homes in the West Bank settlement of “Elkana”, south of Qalqilya. Last month, the Israeli Government had made public its intention to construct some 3,500 homes in the area between East Jerusalem and the “Ma’ale Adumim” settlement, effectively cutting off East Jerusalem from the rest of the West Bank. In mid-April, despite international criticism of the renewed settlement activity, construction in “Ma’ale Adumim” was proceeding.

  The Committee affirms that, in accordance with Security Council resolution 465 (1980), all measures taken by Israel to change the physical character, demographic composition, institutional structure or status of the Palestinian and other Arab territories occupied since 1967, including Jerusalem, or any part thereof, have no legal validity. The Committee also stresses that Israel’s policy and practices of transferring parts of its population into the territory it occupies constitutes a clear violation of article 49 of the Fourth Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War. Furthermore, this policy precludes the possibility of establishing a viable and contiguous Palestinian State, prejudges the outcome of the final status negotiations and undermines international efforts at achieving a comprehensive, just and lasting peace in the Middle East.

  The Committee also reiterates that the continued creation by Israel of facts on the ground contradicts the road map, which obligates the Government of Israel to dismantle settlement outposts and freeze all settlement activity, including the natural growth of settlements. The Committee calls on the Quartet and all other parties concerned to urgently intervene in this matter and demand that the Government of Israel immediately comply with its obligations.

  I should be grateful if you would have the present letter circulated as a document of the tenth emergency special session of the General Assembly and of the Security Council.

(Signed) Paul Badji 

Chairman 

Committee on the Exercise of the

Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People

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