27 February 2001 (A/ES-10/60-S/2001/175)
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: (Settler Death Threats)
Yesterday, 26 February 2001, the spokesman for the so-called
Jewish settlement movement in the West Bank and Gaza Strip called for the
assassination of President Yasser Arafat. Mr. Yehoshua Mor-Yosef said, "Arafat
is an enemy. He never was a partner. After seven years of war and him sending
his own people to kill, we need to assassinate him." The spokesman also stated
that his views reflect those of the Settlers’ Council, an umbrella group for
illegal settlements in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, which has established
links with the Israeli Ministry of Defense and the office of the Prime
Minister and is largely financed by the Israeli government. Similar
provocative statements calling for President Arafat’s assassination were also
made yesterday by Mr. Shlomo Filber, the secretary-general of the
above-mentioned Council.
Israeli settlers, who have been illegally transferred by the
occupying Power to the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including Jerusalem, in
grave breach of the Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949 and in total violation of
relevant Security Council resolutions, and their actions remain the exclusive
responsibility of the occupying Power. Needless to say, these recent
statements and their potentially serious repercussions take their illegal and
immoral presence in the Occupied Territory to a new level of incitement and
hostility, for which we hold the Israeli government fully responsible.
Further, in follow- up to my previous letters to you, dated
from 29 September 2000 to 21 February 2001 (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/2000/131; and
A/ES-10/59-S/2001/156), I wish to draw your attention to the continuing
Israeli military campaign being waged against the Palestinian civilian
population in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including Jerusalem. Since
my last letter to you on 21 February 2001, 3 more Palestinian civilians,
including a 15 year-old boy, have been killed by the Israeli occupying forces.
(The names of the 3 martyrs are contained in the annex to the present letter.)
These killings bring the total number of Palestinians killed by the occupying
forces to 361 martyrs.
In closing, Your Excellency, it should be emphasized that the
occupying Power’s continued killing and injuring of Palestinian civilians in
its brutal military campaign in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, as well as
its obvious assassination policy and the escalating incitement and provocation
mentioned above, are grave issues, to which we believe the international
community must give serious attention. Such attention should aim at bringing
an end to these Israeli violations and to providing protection for the
Palestinian people.
Names of Martyrs killed by Israeli security forces
in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including Jerusalem
(Friday, 23 February through Monday, 26 February 2001)
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Friday, 23 February 2001
- Raed Mahmoud Hussein Mousa
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Sunday, 25 February 2001
- Mohammed Eissa Al-Jalad
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Monday, 26 February 2001
- Hussam Imad El-Deesy (15 years old)
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