6 July 2001 (A/ES-10/94, S/2001/669)
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: (Extrajudicial Killings)
In spite of worldwide opposition and condemnation, Israel,
the occupying Power, insists on pursuing its policy of extrajudicial killings.
On Wednesday, 3 July 2001, Mr. Hazem El-Natche was repeatedly shot and wounded
in Hebron by Israeli soldiers belonging to an undercover unit. Furthermore,
media reports indicated that the Israeli security cabinet in its meeting, on
Wednesday, 3 July 2001, affirmed the continuation of the assassination policy.
The recent decision to continue the policy was defended by several Israeli
officials.
Since 28 September 2000, Israeli occupying forces have killed
40 Palestinians in 19 assassination attempts. This clearly represents a series
of war crimes committed by the occupying Power for which the Israeli
government of Mr. Ariel Sharon is fully responsible. Israeli officials and
officers responsible for such war crimes must be held accountable by the
international community, in accordance with international law and
international humanitarian law.
In addition to its extremely serious legal implications, the
Israeli policy of extrajudicial killings and the decision to continue with it
destroys the recently concluded cease-fire agreement. Once more, the
government of Prime Minister Ariel Sharon must be held fully responsible for
the consequences of such perilous decisions. In fact, many recent Israeli
actions and statements indicate that the Israeli government was never serious
about complying with the recommendations of the Report of the Sharm El-Sheikh
Fact-Finding Committee (Mitchell Report) and the subsequent understanding on
their implementation.
Further, since my last letter to you dated, 2 July 2001
(A/ES-10/93-S/2001/657), I regret to inform you that Israeli occupying forces
have killed 2 more Palestinians, one of them today, bringing the total number
of Palestinian martyrs to 514. (The names of the martyrs are contained in the
annex to the present letter). The number of injuries, many critical, also
continues to rise each day as a result of the violent and criminal actions of
the occupying forces.
I am writing this letter in follow-up to my previous 53
letters addressed to you regarding this grave and ongoing situation in the
Occupied Palestinian Territory, including Jerusalem, dated from 29 September
2000 to 2 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; 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 and A/ES-10/93-S/2001/657).
As we have repeatedly indicated in the past, the Security
Council of the United Nations cannot absolve itself from its responsibility
vis-à-vis the ongoing tragic and dangerous situation in the Occupied
Palestinian Territory, including Jerusalem, and in the Middle East as a whole.
We once again reiterate our call to the Council to uphold its responsibility
and take the necessary measures to save the situation, as well as to ensure
compliance with international law, international humanitarian law and existing
Palestinian-Israeli agreements.
Names of Martyrs killed by Israeli occupying forces
In the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including
Jerusalem*
(Tuesday, 3 July through Thursday, 5 July 2001)
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Tuesday, 3 July 2001
1. Radwan Ibrahim Eshtay’a
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Thursday, 5 July 2001
1. Nasser Abed
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Total number of Palestinian martyrs killed by Israeli
occupying forces since 28 September 2000 = 514
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