Letter sent by Dr. Nasser Al-Kidwa, Ambassador and Permanent
Observer of Palestine to the U.N., to the Secretary-General of the United
Nations, the President of the Security Council, and the President of the
General Assembly: (Attack on Tulkarem)
In the dark, early morning hours of today, Israeli F-16
warplanes attacked the Palestinian city of Tulkarem, destroying the governor’s
headquarters, reducing it to rubble. A Palestinian policeman was killed in the
attack and more than 50 Palestinians were injured, including three who remain
in serious condition.
Also today, in the city of Ramallah, Israeli occupying forces
were reinforced and Israeli tanks and armored vehicles moved to locations
within only 30 yards of President Yasser Arafat’s headquarters, intensifying
the Israeli siege of both the city and the Palestinian Authority. Israeli
occupying forces also fired live ammunition, rubber bullets and tear gas at
Palestinian demonstrators in Ramallah, injuring several people, with at least
one person in serious condition.
These attacks by the occupying Power against the Palestinian
people severely undermine the tenuous and fragile cease-fire, which had been
declared by President Arafat in a serious effort to bring calm to the
dangerous situation on the ground. Even prior to the actions taken today by
the Israeli forces, and prior to the attack that took place in Hadera, which
was unequivocally condemned by the Palestinian Authority, the Israeli army
deputy chief, General Moshe Yahalon, threatened an escalation of Israeli force
by threatening the reoccupation of areas under the control of the Authority.
The General has been quoted as stating on 17 January, "The army could be led
to return to sectors it withdrew from after the Oslo Accords". Such statements
reaffirm the notion that the Israeli government of Mr. Ariel Sharon is neither
interested in calming the situation nor in a cease-fire, but is clearly more
interested in continuing its assaults against the Palestinian people and the
Palestinian Authority and causing more deaths, injuries and destruction. This
has been clearly documented in our previous letters to you detailing the
ongoing Israeli war crimes, State terrorism and other violations in the weeks
since the declaration of this most recent cease-fire.
In follow up to my previous 90 letters to you regarding the
continuing crisis in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including Jerusalem,
dated from 29 September 2000 to 14 January 2002 (A/55/432-S/2000/921;
A/55/437-S/2000/930; A/55/450-S/2000/957; A/55/466-S/2000/971; S/2000/1015; A/ES-10/40-S/2000/1025; A/ES-10/42-S/2000/1068;
A/ES-10/43-S/2000/1078; A/ES-10/44-S/2000/1093; A/ES-10/45-S/2000/1104;
A/ES-10/46-S/2000/1107; A/ES-10/47-S/2000/1116; A/ES-10/48-S/2000/1129;
A/ES-10/49-S/2000/1154; A/ES-10/50-S/2000/1173; A/ES-10/51- S/2000/1185;
A/ES-10/52-S/2000/1206; A/ES-10/53-S/2000/1247; A/ES-10/54-S/2001/7;
A/ES-10/55-S/2001/33; A/ES-10/56-S/2001/50; A/ES-10/57-S/2001/101;
A/ES-10/58-S/2001/131; A/ES-10/59-S/2001/156; A/ES-10/60-S/2001/175;
A/ES-10/61-S/2001/189; A/ES-10/64-S/2001/209; A/ES-10/65-S/2001/226;
A/ES-10/66-S/2001/239; A/ES-10/67-S/2001/255; A/ES-10/68-S/2001/284;
A/ES-10/69-S/2001/295; A/ES-10/70-S/2001/304; A/ES-10/71-S/2001/314;
A/ES-10/72-S/2001/332; A/ES-10/75-S/2001/352; A/ES-10/76-S/2001/372;
A/ES-10/79-S/2001/418; A/ES-10/80-S/2001/432; A/ES-10/81-S/2001/447;
A/ES-10/82-S/2001/463; A/ES-10/83-S/2001/471; A/ES-10/84-S/2001/479;
A/ES-10/85-S/2001/486; A/ES-10/86-S/2001/496; A/ES-10/87-S/2001/504;
A/ES-10/88-S/2001/508; A/ES-10/89-S/2001/544; A/ES-10/90-S/2001/586;
A/ES-10/91- S/2001/605; A/ES-10/92-S/2001/629; A/ES-10/93-S/2001/657;
A/ES-10/94-S/2001/669; A/ES-10/95-S/2001/686;
A/ES-10/96-S/2001/697;A/ES-10/97-S/2001/708; A/ES-10/98-S/2001/717;
A/ES-10/99S/2001/742; A/ES-10/100-S/2001/754; A/ES10/101-S/2001/783;
A/ES-10/102-S/2001/785; A/ES-10/103-S/2001/798; A/ES10/104-S/2001/812;
A/ES-10/105-S/2001/814; A/ES-10/107-S/2001/821; A/ES-10/108-S/2001/826;
A/ES-10/111-S/2001/880; A/ES-10/112-S/2001/918; A/ES-10/114-S/2001/928;
A/ES-10/115-S/2001/932; A/ES-10/116-S/2001/941; A/ES-10/117-S/2001/971
A/ES-10/118-S/2001/989; A/ES-10/119-S/2001/991; A/ES-10/121-S/2001/1007,
A/ES-10/122-S/2001/1024; A/ES-10/123-S/2001/1036; A/ES-10/124-S/2001/1084;
A/ES-10/125-S/2001/1092; A/ES-10/126-S/2001/1118; A/ES-10/128-S/2001/1149;
A/ES-10/129-S/2001/1166; A/ES-10/133-S/2000/1239; A/ES-10/134-S/2001/126;
A/ES-10/136-S/2002/18; A/ES-10/137-S/2002/ 39; A/ES-10/138-S/2002/48 and
A/ES-10/139-S/2002/58), it is my regret to inform you that since my last
letter to you the Israeli occupying forces have killed 2 more Palestinians.
(The names of the martyrs are contained in the annex to the present letter.)
With these killings, the number of Palestinians killed since 28 September 2000
now totals 847 martyrs. Regrettably, the number of Palestinians injured, many
seriously, by the Israeli occupying forces also continues to rise. The Israeli
government must be held accountable for all of these killings and injuries and
all of the destruction it has wreaked throughout the Occupied Palestinian
Territory.
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Names of Martyrs killed by Israeli occupying forces
In the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including Jerusalem*
(Thursday, 17 January 2002 to Friday, 18 January 2002)
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Thursday, 17 January 2002
- Khamees Ahmed Ali Abdallah
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Friday, 18 January 2002
- Jamal Al Aswad
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* Total number of Palestinian martyrs killed by Israeli
occupying forces since 28 September 2000 = 847