Excellency,

I write to you in follow-up to our numerous, previous letters regarding the illegal policies and constant provocations and incitement by Israel, the occupying Power, and its extremist settlers and religious zealots against the Palestinian people, their land and their holy places. Over the past couple of weeks, such reckless actions and provocations have not only continued but have escalated, further exacerbating tensions and religious sensitivities between the two sides and risking a dangerous destabilization of the already fragile situation on the ground. [Read more…]

Excellency,

I draw your urgent attention to the dangerously rising tensions in Occupied East Jerusalem. The illegal actions and constant provocations and incitement by Israel, the occupying Power, including in particular by right-wing Israeli government officials, extremist settlers and religious zealots, against the Palestinian people, their land and their holy places are exacerbating already-high tensions and religious sensitivities.  Such actions risk further destabilization of the situation at critical, defining moment in the political process, in which serious efforts are being exerted, including by the United States and other Quartet members and the League of Arab States, to salvage any remaining hope to achieve a just, lasting solution. [Read more…]

Excellency,

We are at critical stage in the resumed Palestinian-Israeli peace process.  Although serious efforts are being exerted internationally, regionally and by the Palestinian leadership to advance the process, Israel, the occupying Power, persists in bad faith, in both word and deed, aggravating the volatile situation on the ground and threatening the viability of the process.  Public confidence in and support for the negotiations, as well as the credibility of the process itself, are being dramatically eroded by incessant Israeli violations against the Palestinian people. Indeed, such illegal Israeli actions appear deliberately intended to provoke the Palestinian people, undermine the Palestinian leadership and destabilize the situation, with potentially far-reaching negative consequences. [Read more…]

Excellency,

As intense international efforts continue to advance the Palestinian-Israeli peace process, Israel, the occupying Power, persists with its gross violations of the human rights of the Palestinian people and persists with its illegal colonization campaign throughout the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem.  Such illegal and destructive actions are hastening the decline of conditions on the ground and poisoning the atmosphere required for the conduct of credible, substantive negotiations for the achievement of a just, lasting and comprehensive solution. [Read more…]

Excellency,

Tensions continue to escalate in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem – the Territory that constitutes the State of Palestine – due to the unrelenting, illegal and repressive practices being carried out by Israel, the occupying Power, against the Palestinian people.

Since my last letter, more innocent Palestinian civilians have fallen victim to the depraved, excessive and lethal force used by the Israeli occupying army against the defenseless Palestinian civilian population in grave breach of international humanitarian law and human rights law.

On 10 March, Israeli occupying forces shot and killed a Pales [Read more…]

Excellency,

I regret to inform you of the continuing turmoil and deterioration of the situation in the Occupied State of Palestine due to illegal and provocative policies that continue to be pursued by Israel, the occupying Power.

In grave violation of international humanitarian law, namely the provisions of the Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict, the occupying Power carried out a military strike yesterday, 4 March, that killed two Palestinians in Beit Hanoun in the north of the besieged Gaza Strip.  Musab Mousa Al-Za’anin (21 years old) died immediately from the missile strike and Sharif Nasser (31 years old) died hours later of injuries he sustained in the attack.   In addition to the killing of these two civilians, the missile attack, which was fired at an orchard adjacent to several houses, injured several civilians, including a seven-year-old girl who remains in critical condition.  The missile attack also seriously damaged homes, some possibly beyond repair, as well as other civilian properties.  [Read more…]

Excellency,

I regret to inform you of the further escalation of tensions and deterioration of the situation on the ground in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, due to the incessant, systematic brutality and aggression by Israel, the occupying Power, against the Palestinian people.

Today, the Israeli occupying forces killed another young Palestinian man in a military raid in the pre-dawn hours in the town of Bir Zeit north of Ramallah.  Mo’taz Washaha, age 24, was brutally killed in the raid when the occupying forces besieged the home for approximately six hours and then began arbitrarily firing on it with heavy weaponry, including artillery shells.  The occupying forces claimed that the intention was to once again arrest Washaha, who had been previously imprisoned by Israel. The manner in which this young man was violently pursued and attacked indicates a willful intention to kill by the occupying forces. Moreover, it is yet another testament to the pervasive insecurity and abnormality of life for the Palestinian people, particularly Palestinian males, under Israel’s occupation, including those who have suffered Israeli imprisonment and detention and the abuses and torture rampant in captivity and must live in constant fear of repeated arrest and violence by the Israeli occupying forces. [Read more…]

Excellency,

I have been instructed by the Government of the State of Palestine to draw your urgent attention to the escalating acts of Israeli aggression, provocation and incitement in Occupied East Jerusalem and particularly at Al-Haram Al-Sharif, which houses the Holy Al-Aqsa Mosque. Tensions are dramatically rising as Israel, the occupying Power, persists with hostile and illegal actions at this holy site.  Such actions undermine the extremely fragile situation on the ground, threatening to further inflame religious sensitivities, ignite another cycle of violence and sabotage the peace negotiations currently underway. [Read more…]

Excellency,

I regret to inform you of the continuing turmoil and deterioration of the situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, due to the illegal, provocative policies being carried out by Israel, the occupying Power, against the Palestinian people. Israel continues to carry out grave violations of international law, ranging from the killing and injury of Palestinian civilians by means of excessive force against unarmed, defenseless civilians; military raids and mass arrests and detentions, including of children; demolitions of Palestinian homes and properties; and incessant provocations and incitement by settlers and Israeli government officials against the Palestinian people. These actions have continued and escalated in the recent period, threatening to further destabilize the already-fragile situation on the ground and to thwart the peace negotiations currently underway. [Read more…]