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Identical letters dated 1 October 2010 from the Permanent Observer of Palestine to the United Nations addressed to the Secretary-General and the President of the Security Council (A/ES-10/502-S/2010/505)

Attachments

General Assembly
Tenth emergency special session
Agenda item 5
Illegal Israeli actions in Occupied East Jerusalem and
the rest of the Occupied Palestinian Territory

Security Council
Sixty-fifth year

As world leaders converged on the United Nations for the general debate of the sixty-fifth session of the General Assembly, a central message was made abundantly clear by the overwhelming majority of leaders: international law must be respected and honoured by all, for this is the main pillar of our international system aimed at ensuring peaceful, secure, friendly and equitable relations among nations and ensuring the protection and promotion of the human rights of all peoples.

This central message was of direct relevance to the question of Palestine and the references to the need for achieving a just and lasting solution and the ongoing efforts by the international community to promote the peace talks and to prevent their collapse under the weight of the intransigence and impunity of Israel, the occupying Power. The international consensus in this regard is strong. Now more than ever, Member States are united in their call upon Israel to respect its legal obligations as an occupying Power and to cease forthwith its violations of the Fourth Geneva Convention and the many relevant United Nations resolutions. There is unanimity in the conviction that such respect for the law is imperative for promoting an environment conducive to the pursuit of peace, and indeed for salvaging the prospects for achievement of the two-State solution for peace on the basis of the pre-1967 borders. In particular, the international community is firmly united in its demand that Israel cease its illegal settlement campaign in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem.

Regrettably, Israel has responded to these calls from all corners of the globe with defiance, intransigence, indifference and even blatantly expansionist and racist proposals. As the so-called "10-month moratorium" on settlement construction in the Occupied West Bank expired, Israeli officials, including senior members of government, have proceeded to make several provocative statements, including in the context of official visits to illegal settlements, in a reflection of their determination to continuing colonizing the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, regardless of the fact that such actions constitute clear breaches of international humanitarian law and regardless of the gravely detrimental impact on the newly resumed peace process and the concerted and noble efforts being exerted in this regard by all members of the international community and led by the efforts of the United States of America.