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.

 

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.)