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: (Al-Khalil Standoff)
Israel, the occupying Power, continues to commit human rights
violations, war crimes and State terrorism against the Palestinian people. The
bloody military campaign being carried out by the Israeli occupying forces
throughout the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including Jerusalem, since 28
September 2000, is now entering its 22nd month.
As of this time, the Israeli occupying forces have invaded
and reoccupied seven of the major Palestinian cities. The cities of Ramallah,
Bethlehem, Nablus, Qalqilya, Tulkarem, Jenin and Al-Khalil, as well as
adjacent villages and refugee camps, remain under strict Israeli military
siege. In addition, the occupying forces, using all means of heavy weaponry,
have continued killing Palestinians, including children, committing
extrajudiciary executions, destroying homes and properties, raiding and
searching homes, abducting and detaining Palestinians and obstructing the
access of medical personnel.
In Ramallah, the Israeli military siege of the headquarters
of President Yasser Arafat continues, with the safety and well being of
President Arafat, as well as other persons inside the headquarters, in
constant danger. The situation in Al-Khalil, which has been declared by the
occupying forces to be a closed military zone, also continues to be
particularly grave. Since Tuesday, 25 June, the Israeli occupying forces have
besieged the Palestinian Authority’s security headquarters in the city. That
building is being destroyed as the occupying forces continue to attack it with
helicopter gunship missiles, tank shells, machine gunfire and bulldozers and
the lives of those who potentially remain inside are being seriously
endangered.
Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians are being confined to
their homes as they are being subjected to 24-hour curfews imposed by the
occupying forces. The socioeconomic despair of the Palestinian people is
deepening and the humanitarian crisis is becoming more grave with each passing
day. The curfews have prevented Palestinians from work, trade, education,
access to proper medical care and have precluded any semblance of normalcy in
all aspects of daily life. Further, access to food and other basic
necessities, which continue to be in severe shortage, has also been seriously
obstructed by the occupying forces. In cases where the curfews have been
lifted after several days, they are usually lifted for only about two hours
and Palestinians must spend most of that brief time trying to cross, typically
on foot, one of the many Israeli checkpoints and blockades erected throughout
the Occupied Palestinian Territory. Moreover, they, Palestinian men, women and
children, are frequently subjected to humiliation and harassment, including
physical, by the occupying forces at these numerous checkpoints and
blockades.
As the situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory,
including Jerusalem, continues to deteriorate with the ongoing assaults by the
Israeli occupying forces against the Palestinian people and the Palestinian
Authority, it is incumbent upon the international community, in the interest
of international peace and security, to take action. Indeed, while the
attention of the international community appears to be diverted, the
Palestinian people continue to suffer under the brute force of constant
Israeli military assaults and the humanitarian crisis in the Occupied
Palestinian Territory continues to worsen.
In follow-up to my previous 128 letters to you regarding the
ongoing crisis in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including Jerusalem,
dated from 29 September 2000 to 24 June 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;
A/55/474-S/2000/984; A/55/490-S/2000/993; A/ES-10/39-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; A/ES-10/139-S/2002/58;
A/ES-10/140-S/2002/89; A/ES-10/141-S/2002/95; A/ES-10/142-S/2002/102;
A/ES-10/143-S/2002/121; A/ES-10/144-S/2002/142; A/ES-10/145-S/2002/146;
A/ES-10/146-S/2002/165; A/ES-10/147-S/2002/175; A/ES-10/148-S/2002/182;
A/ES-10/149-S/2002/186; A/ES-10/150-S/2002/214; A/ES-10/151-S/2002/223;
A/ES-10/152-S/2002/232; A/ES-10/154-S/2002/242; A/ES-10/155-S/2002/248;
A/ES-10/156-S/2002/245; A/ES-10/157-S/2002/253; A/ES-10/158-S/2002/258;
A/ES-10/159-S/2002/281; A/ES-10/160-S/2002/307; A/ES-10/161-S/2002/319;
A/ES-10/162-S/2002/330; A/ES-10/163-S/2002/340; A/ES-10/164-S/2002/353;
A/ES-10/165-S/2002/361; A/ES-10/166-S/2002/370; A/ES-10/167-S/2002/433;
A/ES-10/168-S/2002/474; A/ES-10/169-S/2002/495; A/ES-10/173-S/2002/536;
A/ES-10/174-S/2002/555,A/ES-10/175-S/2002/610; A/ES-10/176-S/2002/617;
A/ES-10/177-S/2002/641; A/ES-10/178-S/2002/650; A/ES-10/179-S/2002/654;
A/ES-10/180-S/2002/686; A/ES-10/181-S/2002/697 and A/ES-10/182-S/2002/699), it
is my deep regret to inform you that, since my last letter to you, at least 12
more Palestinians have been killed by Israeli occupying forces raising the
total number of Palestinian martyrs killed since 28 September 2000 to 1656
people. (The names of the martyrs that have been identified thus far are
contained in the annex to the present letter.)
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Names of martyrs killed by Israeli occupying forces
in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including
Jerusalem*
(Monday 24 June 2002 through Thursday 27 June 2002)
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Monday 24 June 2002
- Yasser Mohamed Omar
- Yasser Rizq
- Bassam Rizq
- Yussef Rizq
- Midhat Al-Abed Al-Wahab Al-Jurani (17 years old)
- Amir Mohamed Qoufeh
Tuesday 25 June 2002
- Ashraf Ibrahim Zeeb
- Mohamed Mijahed Attalah Al-Awawdeh
- Khaled Yussef Al-Jameezy
- Mohamed Nafez Abu Murseh (19 years old)
Wednesday 26 June 2002
1. Zaki Mahmoud Mohamed Ayash (19 years old)
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Thursday 27 June 2002
1. Bassam Ghassan Ragheb Al-Sa’adi (7 years old)
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* The total number of Palestinian martyrs killed by Israeli
occupying forces since 28 September 2000 = 1656