51猎奇

31 March 2026

Identical letters dated 31 March 2026 from the Permanent Observer of the State of Palestine to the United Nations addressed to the Secretary-General, the President of the General Assembly and the President of the Security Council

Pursuant to my letter yesterday, I am compelled to write to you once again to specifically draw your urgent attention to the critical and escalating plight of thousands of Palestinian civilians, including women and children, who are unlawfully arrested, arbitrarily detained and held captive in the Israeli prisons, in blatant and systematic violation of international law, including international humanitarian and human rights law.

While the arrest and detention of Palestinian civilians continue to be part of the daily raids carried out by the Israeli occupying forces across the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and remain a feature of Israel’s apartheid regime, as of March 2026, more than 9,500 Palestinian civilians, among them women and children, are being arbitrarily held in Israeli prisons under a system that subjects them to inherently unfair and fraudulent trials in military courts.

Palestinian prisoners and detainees are incarcerated in conditions that are not only inhumane, but also profoundly degrading and life-threatening. They are subjected to exceptionally ruthless physical and psychological abuse, including sexual abuse and rape, systematic deprivation of their most basic human rights, medical negligence, collective punishment and torture. This treatment has resulted in the deaths of more than 80 Palestinian detainees in Israeli prisons since October 2023, as reported by the Israeli human rights group, B’Tselem. This constitutes a flagrant violation of Israel’s obligations as an occupying Power under international law, in particular article 76 of the Fourth Geneva Convention, which explicitly protects the rights and safety of protected persons in occupied territories.

Yesterday, in a dangerous and alarming escalation, the Knesset brazenly approved discriminatory legislation permitting the death penalty by hanging as the default punishment for Palestinian prisoners, despite warnings and condemnations from several European and other States and human rights organizations. The adoption of such legislation constitutes not only a war crime, but also a deliberate and egregious violation of the provisions of the Geneva Conventions, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the Convention against Torture, and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

Once again, we stress that Israel, the occupying Power, has no jurisdiction or sovereignty over the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem. As such, international law, including humanitarian and human rights law, must be upheld and respected by all States under all circumstances. Failure to do so has fostered a culture of impunity that has enabled Israel to continue committing grave crimes against a defenceless, occupied people. Ending this culture of impunity is long overdue, and must stop.

We reiterate our unequivocal condemnation and rejection of such legislation, and we once again call for the protection of the Palestinian people, including those arbitrarily detained in Israeli detention centres, and of their inalienable rights, including their right to life and dignity.

The international community cannot wait any longer in the face of such extreme injustice, particularly in light of the discriminatory and one-sided legislation adopted yesterday. It is high time for the international community to assume its legal and moral responsibilities and act urgently and effectively to ensure that this legislation is rescinded. This requires concrete and tangible measures of accountability, in line with international law.

The present letter is in follow-up to our 888 previous letters regarding the ongoing crisis in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, which constitutes the territory of the State of Palestine. Those letters, dated from 29?September 2000 (A/55/432-S/2000/921) to 30 March 2026 (A/ES-10/1058-S/2026/252), constitute a basic record of the crimes being committed by Israel, the occupying Power, against the Palestinian people since September 2000. For all of these war crimes, acts of State terrorism and systematic human rights violations being committed against the Palestinian people, Israel, the occupying Power, must be held accountable and the perpetrators must be brought to justice.

I should be grateful if you would arrange to have the present letter distributed as a document of the tenth emergency special session of the General Assembly, under agenda item 5, and of the Security Council.

(Signed) Riyad Mansour

Minister

Permanent Observer