Illegal Israeli actions in OPT/Closure of the Gaza Strip – Letter from Palestine

    Identical letters dated 21 January 2008 from the Permanent Observer of Palestine to the United Nations addressed to the Secretary-General and the President of the Security Council

  As we have repeatedly cautioned in our recent letters to you, Israel, the occupying Power, is continuing its inhumane and unlawful collective punishment of the Palestinian civilian population in the Occupied Gaza Strip, with disastrous consequences for the humanitarian situation there. The occupying Power has intensified its siege of the Gaza Strip with the ongoing closure of all border crossings and the deliberate obstruction of the entry of even vital humanitarian supplies.

  In addition to its recent escalation of the military campaign against the Palestinian civilian population in the Gaza Strip, which has resulted, in less than a week’s time, in the killing of more than 40 Palestinians, including children and women, and injury to dozens of other civilians, Israel, the occupying Power, has intensified its closure of the Occupied Palestinian Territory by hermetically sealing all border crossings, preventing even the delivery of food supplies to the population since Friday, 18 January 2008. At the same time, Israel has persisted with the reduction of fuel supplies to the Gaza Strip, completely cutting off fuel to the main power plant on Sunday, 20 January 2008.

  Such illegal measures of collective punishment threaten to exacerbate the humanitarian crisis and are hastening the deterioration of the situation on the ground in all its aspects. The suspension of fuel supplies has had an impact on the provision of electricity to the civilian population, with the majority of Gaza’s population suffering in darkness since yesterday, with no electricity for their homes, no power for the refrigeration of their already meagre food supplies and no heating, in addition to the fuel shortages that have brought vehicular traffic in the Gaza Strip to a near standstill. Health officials are also reporting that hospital generators are running out of fuel supplies, endangering the lives of sick patients, young and old. In addition, such fuel reductions will inevitably further obstruct the functioning of sanitation and water facilities, which will have negative consequences for the health of the civilian population.

  The continued imposition of this crippling, cruel siege on the Palestinian civilian population, combined with Israel’s condemnable military attacks, which not only cause death and destruction but also constitute clear acts of incitement and provocation, is causing extensive human suffering and rising instability and is heightening fear, tension and despair among the civilian population. There is no pretext — security or otherwise — that can justify such inhumane punishment of innocent civilians, including children, women and elderly, disab   The continued imposition of this crippling, cruel siege on the Palestinian civilian population, combined with Israel’s condemnable military attacks, which not only cause death and destruction but also constitute clear acts of incitement and provocation, is causing extensive human suffering and rising instability and is heightening fear, tension and despair among the civilian population. There is no pretext — security or otherwise — that can justify such inhumane punishment of innocent civilians, including children, women and elderly, disabled and ill persons.

  Moreover, such illegal acts of aggression and punitive measures by the occupying Power severely poison the atmosphere between the two sides, undermining peace efforts and reigniting the cycle of violence, with its far-ranging, negative implications for the situation on the ground and prospects for peace. In that regard, it must be clearly recalled that the wilful killing of civilians, the wanton destruction of property and the collective punishment of civilians under occupation are strictly prohibited by the Fourth Geneva Convention.

  The international community must uphold international law and shoulder its responsibilities, including by ensuring respect for the law. Israel, the occupying Power, must be called upon to immediately cease its acts of military aggression and its collective punishment of the Palestinian people in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and abide by its legal obligations. Israel’s siege of the Gaza Strip must be condemned, and Israel should be called upon to lift the closures and allow for the opening of crossings to permit the access, at the very minimum, of necessary food and medical supplies. The warning issued by United Nations agencies on the ground that, if the closures continue, vital food aid to the more than 1 million refugees and other needy civilians in Gaza dependent on such aid for survival will have to be suspended within a few days must be taken seriously. Immediate action must be undertaken to ensure the entry of essential supplies and the restoration of fuel to the Gaza Strip. We call upon the members of the international community in all arenas to shoulder their responsibilities and to intervene urgently to put an end to this punishment of the Palestinian people, to alleviate the humanitarian crisis, to halt the deterioration of the security situation and to salvage the fragile peace process, which will surely collapse under the weight of such ongoing illegal Israeli policies and practices.

  This letter is in follow-up to our previous 306 letters to you regarding the ongoing crisis in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, since 28 September 2000. Those letters, dated from 29 September 2000 (A/55/432-S/2000/921) to 15 January 2008 (A/ES-10/410-S/2008/23), constitute a basic record of the crimes that have been committed by Israel, the occupying Power, against the Palestinian people since September 2000. For all of those war crimes, acts of State terrorism and systematic human rights violations committed against the Palestinian people, Israel, the occupying Power, must be held accountable, and the perpetrators must be brought to justice.

  In follow-up to the above-mentioned letters, it is with deep regret that I inform you that at least 24 more Palestinian civilians, including children, have been killed by the Israeli occupying forces, raising the total number of martyrs killed since September 2000 to 4,923 (the names of the martyrs that have been identified are listed in the annex to the present letter).

  I should 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) Riyad Mansour

Ambassador

Permanent Observer

     Annex to the identical letters dated 21 January 2008 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 the Israeli occupying forces in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem * (from Wednesday, 16 January 2008 to Monday, 21 January 2008)

    Wednesday, 16 January 2008

1.  Aamer Hashem Al-Yazji 

2.   Mohammad Hachem Al-Yazji

3.  Ameer Aamer Al-Yazji (11)

4.   Waleed Obaidi

5.  Mohammad Ahmad Al-Safadi 

6.   Wa’el Abdel Kareem Ahel

   Thursday, 17 January 2008

7.   Ashraf Al-Achi

8.  Mahmoud Al-Banna

9.   Mariam Al-Rohal

10.  Saleh Al-Rohal

11.   Mansour Al-Rohal

12.  Ra’ad Suleiman Abu Foul

13.   Fat’hia Al-Hassoumi

14.  Ziyad Khedr Abu Taqiya 

    Friday, 18 January 2008

15.  Shadi Qutiyfan

16.   Mahmoud Ramadan Al-Barsh (16)

17.  Ismail Radwan

18.   Hanniya Abdel Jawwad

   Saturday, 19 January 2008

19.   Ihab Al-Banna

20.  Ali Juamaa’

21.   Marouj Sufian Taha (6)

   Sunday, 20 January 2008

22.   Ibrahim Al-Ghouti

23.  Mahmoud Al-Ghouti

    Monday, 21 January 2008

24.  Murad Ibrahim Al-Basha 

*   The total number of Palestinian martyrs killed by the Israeli occupying forces since 28 September 2000 is 4,923.

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