31 July 2001 (A/ES-10/100-S/2001/754)
Letter sent by Mr. Marwan Jilani, Charge d’Affaires, a.i.,
Deputy 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: (Israeli Assassination of 10
Palestinians)
It is my profound regret to inform you that Israel, the
occupying Power, has committed yet another savage crime against the
Palestinian people in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including Jerusalem.
Today, as part of the ongoing Israeli escalation of terror being waged against
the Palestinian people, Israeli helicopter gunships fired missiles at an
office building in the city of Nablus assassinating 8 Palestinian civilians,
including 2 brothers age 8 and 10. In addition, 15 Palestinian civilians,
including the mother of the two children killed, were seriously injured as a
result of this brutal Israeli attack. This new war crime committed by Prime
Minister Ariel Sharon and his government illustrates their complete disregard
for the lives of Palestinian civilians, including women and children.
The above-mentioned war crime followed an apparent
assassination of 6 Palestinian civilians who were killed in the city of Jenin
on Sunday, 29 July 2001, as part of Israel’s policy of targeted
assassinations. That same day, Israeli occupying forces stormed Al-Haram
Al-Sharif compound and Al-Aqsa mosque injuring over 40 Palestinian civilians
in order to provide protection for Jewish extremists who were trying to place
a 4.5-ton cornerstone symbolizing the building of a Jewish Temple to replace
the Muslim holy site. This illegal action, which was authorized by the Israeli
high court, aims to alter the legal status and the religious and culture
character of Occupied Jerusalem, in flagrant violation of relevant Security
Council resolutions and the Fourth Geneva Convention relative to the
Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War of 1949.
The Palestinian Leadership holds Prime Minister Ariel Sharon
and his government fully responsible for these war crimes and for their
ensuing consequences. We call upon the international community to hold the
Israeli officials and officers accountable for such war crimes perpetuated
against the Palestinian people, in accordance with international humanitarian
law. Furthermore, we once again reiterate our call to the Security Council to
uphold its responsibility and to take the necessary action in this regard, in
particular the establishment of an international observer force for the
protection of Palestinian civilians, as well as to ensure compliance with
relevant Security Council resolutions, international law, international
humanitarian law and existing Palestinian-Israeli agreements.
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Regretfully, the number of Palestinians killed by the
excessive and indiscriminate use of force by the Israeli occupying forces and
by its illegal and criminal policy of extrajudicial killings continues to rise
each day. In addition, many more Palestinian civilians have been injured, a
large number of them seriously and permanently. Since our last letter to you
dated, 26 July 2001 (A/ES-10/99-S/2001/742), Israeli occupying forces have
killed 16 more Palestinians, including 2 Palestinians killed today by Israeli
occupying forces in the Gaza Strip, bringing the total number of Palestinian
martyrs to 549.
Moreover, I am writing this letter in follow-up to our
previous 59 letters addressed to you regarding this grave and ongoing
situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including Jerusalem, dated
from 29 September 2000 to 27 July 2001 (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; 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 and A/ES-10/97-S/2001/742.)
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