Illegal Israeli actions in OPT – Letter from Palestine

Identical letters dated 8 September 2003 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, has not for one day ceased its vicious and lethal military campaign against the Palestinian people in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem. Among the countless violations of international law and international humanitarian law being committed by the occupying Power, the Israeli occupying forces continue fervently to carry out extrajudicial killings. On Saturday, 6 September, the occupying forces targeted for assassination the spiritual leader of Hamas, Sheikh Ahmed Yassin, by dropping a 550-pound bomb from a warplane on a building in the densely populated area of Gaza City in which he was located. The bomb caused immense destruction to the building and wounded 15 Palestinians, including Sheikh Yassin, who survived the attack. This was followed by another attack, launched last night by Israeli helicopter gunships, near Khan Yunis, which wounded another 11 Palestinian civilians.

The attempted extrajudicial killing of Sheikh Yassin was followed by a declaration by Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon that all Hamas leaders were “marked for death”. Public announcements such as that and the continued pursuit by Israel of such an illegal, immoral and inhumane policy in complete disregard, contempt and violation of international law, including international humanitarian law, have reached a fever pitch. When public officials openly boast of committing such war crimes and illegal actions, the insanity of the situation becomes abundantly clear and the potential for a gravely dangerous decline of the situation in the coming period becomes extremely alarming. Muted condemnations of these actions on the part of the international community clearly do not help to inhibit such unprecedented bloodletting in the Occupied Palestinian Territory.

In this regard, we must also call to your attention the continuous and repeated threats being made by several Israeli officials to expel or deport or even kill Palestinian President Yasser Arafat. Such threats clearly reveal the arrogance and disdain of the Israeli Government vis-à-vis the Palestinian leadership and the Palestinian people, when representatives of the Government speak as if the Palestinian people and the Palestinian territory are their property to do with as they please, ignoring international law prohibiting the occupying Power from carrying out deportations, let alone of an elected leader. Carrying out this threat or even the constant repetition of this threat will clearly convey to the Palestinian people Israel’s evil intentions on all fronts and will terminate any peace efforts to end the conflict.

As the situation on the ground in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, continues to deteriorate dangerously, the international community must seriously examine its positions and actions vis-à-vis Israel, the occupying Power, that have permitted it to so flagrantly and constantly violate international law. Urgent measures must be taken by the international community, including in particular by the Security Council, to remedy this situation and to ensure that Israel complies with international law, international humanitarian law and the Charter of the United Nations. Indeed, the Palestinian people continue to look to the international community to uphold international law and to bring an end to the Israeli occupation of and onslaught against the Palestinian people, their leadership and their land.

This letter is in follow-up to our previous 172 letters to you 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 2 September 2003 (A/ES-10/234-S/2003/853), constitute a basic record of the crimes committed by the Israeli occupying forces against the Palestinian people since September 2000. For all of these war crimes, 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.

  Accordingly, in follow-up to the above-mentioned letters, it is my regret to inform you that, since my last letter, at least 5 Palestinians have been killed by the Israeli occupying forces, raising the total number of martyrs to 2,527 Palestinians. (The names of the martyrs that have been identified thus far are contained in the annex to the present letter.)

  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) Nasser Al-Kidwa
Ambassador
Permanent Observer of Palestine to the United Nations

Annex to the identical letters dated 8 September 2003 from the Permanent Observer of Palestine to the United Nations addressed to the Secretary-General and the President of the Security Council

Names of the martyrs killed by the Israeli occupying forces in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including Jerusalem *

Wednesday, 3 September 2003, through Monday, 8 September 2003

    Wednesday, 3 September 2003

Ali Hussein Abu Selim (died from wounds sustained on 28 August 2003) 

    Friday, 5 September 2003

Mohammed Abdelrahim Yousef Al-Hanabli

    Saturday, 6 September 2003

Khaled Mahmoud Mustafa Maswoud (died from wounds sustained on 26 August 2003)

    Sunday, 7 September 2003

Mohammed Abdallah Abu Al-Hosni (17 years old)

    Monday, 8 September 2003

Ahmed Mufeed Halawah

___________

 *   The total number of Palestinian martyrs killed by the Israeli occupying forces since 28 September 2000 is 2,527.