3 January 2001 (A/ES-10/54, S/2001/7)
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: (Killings & Assassinations)
In follow-up of my previous letters to you, dated from 29
September to 28 December 2000 (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), I
regret to inform you that the Israeli occupying forces continue to willfully
kill and injure Palestinian civilians in the Occupied Palestinian Territory,
including Jerusalem, through use of live ammunition and other heavy weaponry.
Seven Palestinians have been killed since my last letter to you, bringing the
total number of Palestinian deaths since 29 September to 322 martyrs. (The
names of the 7 martyrs are annexed.) In addition, the number of Palestinians
wounded and injured, many severely and permanently, by the Israeli occupying
forces continues to rise.
Further, Israel, the occupying Power continues with its
practice of assassinating Palestinian civilians. On Sunday, 31 December 2000,
Dr. Thabet Thabet, a Palestinian dentist and a director at the Palestinian
Health Ministry, was targeted and summarily executed by Israeli occupying
forces in the town of Tulkarem. Not only has the occupying Power repeatedly
pursued such illegal actions, but several high ranking officials have declared
their intention to continuing pursuing the policy of assassination of
Palestinians "suspected" of activities against Israel. As stated by the
Israeli Deputy Defense Minister, Ephraim Sneh, "If anyone has committed or is
planning to carry out terrorist acts, he has to be hit." He further added that
no one was immune to this policy, "even if he had a position in the
Palestinian Authority." In a similar statement, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud
Barak, on the same day of Mr. Thabet’s assassination, advised Israeli
civilians to leave matters to the Israeli army, "which, as we saw today, is
taking action against the direct perpetrators of terrorist attacks," further
confirming such illegal actions as official Israeli policy.
I wish to refer now to the letter of 2 January 2001 by the
Permanent Representative of Israel to the United Nations (A/55/725-S/2001/2)
and several erroneous comments contained therein. In this regard, I wish to
reiterate that the Palestinian side remains opposed to any terrorist actions
by any side and definitely does not condone any of the actions referred to in
that letter. Moreover, with regard to the Israeli settlers, illegally
transferred by the occupying Power to the Occupied Palestinian Territory in
violation of the Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949 and relevant Security
Council resolutions, the Palestinian side reiterates that they remain the
complete responsibility of the occupying Power. It is the occupying Power
alone that should be held responsible for any actions involving the illegal
settlers. Further, it should be noted that many of those settlers have been
increasingly involved in terrorizing the Palestinian population in the
occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip, in many cases killing and injuring
Palestinian civilians.
The suffering of the Palestinian people under Israeli
occupation continues as the occupying Power continues to violate and commit
grave breaches of the Fourth Geneva Convention and other relevant instruments
of international law, including resolutions of the United Nations Security
Council and General Assembly. The continuous killing and destruction being
carried out by the Israeli occupying forces in the Occupied Palestinian
Territory, including Jerusalem, serve as stark and unfortunate reminders of
the need for serious and immediate action by the international community to
assist and protect Palestinian civilians under occupation.
Names of Martyrs killed by Israeli security forces
in the Occupied Palestinian Territory including
Jerusalem
(Friday, 29 December 2000 through Tuesday, 2 January
2001)
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Friday, 29 December 2000
- Mahmoud Khalil Naseer
Sunday, 31 December 2000
- Dr. Thabet Thabet
- Tarek Al-Qatou
- Mu’taz Serouji
- Muaz Ahmed Mohammed Abu Edwan (10 years old)
- Tahrir Suliman Rizq
Tuesday, 2 January 2001
- Saber Awad Ibrahim Khader
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