Illegal Israeli actions in OPT, Gaza air strikes, settlements – Letter from Palestine

Identical letters dated 26 June 2012 from the Permanent Observer of Palestine
 to the United Nations addressed to the Secretary-General and the President of the Security Council

In follow-up of our previous letters regarding Israel’s ongoing military campaign in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, I regret to inform you that many more Palestinian civilians, including children and women, continue to be victims of deadly and destructive attacks by Israel, the occupying Power, particularly in the besieged Gaza Strip.

The Israeli occupying forces have continued to carry out missile air strikes and artillery bombardment of civilian areas in the Gaza Strip in grave violation of international law, including the Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in time of war. In this regard, Israel continues to deliberately target and kill Palestinian civilians, continuing its policy of extrajudicial executions. Moreover, no place in Gaza is safe from Israel’s relentless aggression, with even playgrounds now becoming targets for Israel’s F-16 warplanes. Since 17 June, at least 15 Palestinians, including 3 children, have been killed and dozens injured in Israeli military attacks against the Gaza Strip, with a toll of nearly 70 people, including 17 children and 5 women.

On 22 June, Basem Abdallah Ahmad, age 28, from the Al-Bureij refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip, was killed when the Israeli forces fired artillery shells into an area east of the camp in the central Gaza Strip. This attack was followed by the killing, on 23 June, of Mutaz Shawwaf, a five-year-old child, who died after being struck by an Israeli missile attack on a playground in Abassan, near Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip. Hammam Abu Qadous, age 20, from the Sheikh Radwan neighbourhood of Gaza City, died of his wounds after he and two others were injured by an Israeli missile strike that had targeted them. Khaled Nasser Al-Bore’i, age 24, was killed when an Israeli warplane fired missiles at an area in the northern Gaza Strip, and Osama Mahmoud Ali, age 42, was killed by missile fire by an Israeli drone west of Gaza City. Airstrikes continued throughout the Gaza Strip, injuring dozens of more people and causing destruction to civilian properties.

Turning to the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, I must draw your urgent attention once again to Israel’s intense and ongoing illegal settlement campaign. Construction of settlements and so-called outposts continue, as do provocative declarations by the occupying Power indicating its illegal intentions and plans in this regard. Today, 26 June, Israel announced plans to construct an additional 180 units in the illegal settlement of “East Talpiot”, also known as “Armon HaNetziv”, in Occupied East Jerusalem. At the same time, pending demolition orders, which we have drawn attention to in our previous letters, continue to threaten the destruction of Palestinian homes and the displacement of more Palestinian families.

All such actions are further proof that Israel is not interested in achieving the two-State solution on the basis of the pre-1967 borders. Indeed, the occupying Power proves daily its preference for continuing its illegitimate occupation of the Palestinian land, with continued commitment of war crimes and grave breaches of international law, including humanitarian and human rights law, prolonging the conflict and the suffering our people are being forced to endure.

The present letter is in follow-up to our previous 431 letters regarding the ongoing crisis in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, since 28 September 2000. These letters, dated from 29 September 2000 (A/55/432-S/2000/921) to 20 June 2012 (A/ES-10/559-S/2012/464) constitute a basic record of the crimes being committed by Israel, the occupying Power, against the Palestinian people since September 2000. For all of these 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.

I should be grateful if you would arrange to have the present letter 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 of Palestine to the United Nations