Israeli violations in Occupied Palestine in 2014 (PDF 111Kb)

Letter of President Abbas to UN General Secretary Ban Ki Moon

State of Palestine, Office of the President

Ban Ki-Moon
Secretary-General of the United Nations
United Nations

November 20, 2014

Your Excellency,                               

I submit the enclosed report on Israeli violations of law in the occupied State of Palestine against Palestinian civilians.

The report exposes the impunity with which Israeli forces and illegal settlers, encouraged by the government of Prime Minister Netanyahu, terrorize the Palestinian population and enflame an already tense and dangerous situation in the region.

Over the past several weeks, Israel has dramatically escalated its violations against Palestinians in occupied East Jerusalem through settlement construction, forced displacement, denial of the right to access and worship at the Aqsa Mosque compound, and through violent repression of expressions of opposition to these illegal and provocative measures. While the Palestinian leadership calls for restraint, the Netanyahu government makes a tense situation even more precarious by announcing thousands of new settlement housing units. Once again, the Israeli government has chosen settlements over negotiations, colonization over the two-state solution, and apartheid over equality and coexistence.

We reiterate our call for the international community to demand that Israel meet its legal obligation, as an occupying power, to protect the Palestinian population living under its occupation and that it hold its forces and violent settlers accountable for their crimes. Israel’s refusal to put an end to rampant settler violence against Palestinian civilians is yet another reason why the international community should recognize the State of Palestine on the 1967 border and support Palestinian efforts to set a deadline for ending the Israeli occupation. Supporting these initiatives is an investment in peace needed to save the two-state solution from vanishing.

Very truly yours,

Mahmoud Abbas
President of the State of Palestine