Jerusalem/Settlements – Letter from LAS

COMMISSION ON HUMAN RIGHTS

Fiftieth session

Item 4 of the provisional agenda

QUESTION OF THE VIOLATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS IN THE OCCUPIED ARAB

TERRITORIES, INCLUDING PALESTINE

Letter dated 14 January 1994 from the Permanent Delegation of the

League of Arab States to the United Nations Office at Geneva

addressed to the Assistant Secretary-General for Human Rights

At a time when all efforts are being directed towards the establishment of a just and durable peace in the Near East on the basis of Security Council resolutions 242 (1967), 252 (1968), 338 (1973) and 425 (1978), Israel is once again defying the international will and deciding to build new settlements in the occupied Arab territories.  The most recent is a new Israeli settlement on the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem; this constitutes a further stage in a deliberate policy of Judaization of the Arab territories, particularly after the ruling of the Israeli court of 23 September 1993 placing the Sacred Mosque of "El Aqsa" under Israeli jurisdiction.

The General Secretariat of the League of Arab States denounces this new Israeli measure which seeks to impose the policy of the fait accompli and condemns it strongly.  It draws attention to the affront that it constitutes to the resolutions of the United Nations and to international legality.  This violation forms a major obstacle to the peace efforts generated by the Israeli-Palestinian accord which specifies that negotiations on the question of Jerusalem shall be postponed until the final phase of the settlement.  

The General Secretariat of the Arab League invites the members of the international community to strive to put an end to deliberate Israeli aggression in the occupied Arab territories, in conformity with international principles and resolutions in order to preserve the unique character of Jerusalem as a holy city and a place where monotheistic religions and universal civilizations exist side by side.

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GE.94-10461  (E)