| Statement by New York, 11 November 2002 Mr. Chairman, My delegation would like to thank the Special Committee to Investigate Israeli Practices Affecting the Human Rights of the Palestinian People and Other Arabs of the Occupied Territories for its valuable reports on this subject. It is to be noted that despite the Special Committee’s lack of access to the occupied territories, it has continued to execute its mandate with commitment and determination, and to provide us with both periodic and other reports that shine important light on the human rights situation in the occupied territories. As everyone well knows, the past year has been one of intensified violence in the occupied territories, and the report confirms what we already know, that the human rights situation has deteriorated considerably. Indeed, during the reporting period from the end of September 2001 to June 2002, Mr. Chairman, Israeli incursions into Palestinian towns and villages led to over 1300 Palestinian deaths and over 20,000 injured. Similarly, a tremendous amount of infrastructure and property, including private homes, medical facilities, schools, religious buildings and even official buildings of the Palestinian Authority, was devastated during this period. In the process, Israel further left homeless an estimated several thousand people. In Jenin alone, approximately one-third of the homes in the refugee camp were destroyed. Mr. Chairman, According to the testimony of former detainees to the Special Committee, difficult conditions continued to persist in the detention centres, with Israel extracting confessions from them under harsh interrogations in solitary confinement. They took Palestinian civilians hostage and used them as human shields. Even journalists also faced difficult conditions and restrictions in the course of their duties. Furthermore, the reports detail how Israel hindered local and foreign human rights defenders in their task of monitoring and documenting human rights violations in the West Bank. As a result, representatives of many nongovernmental organizations were unable to reach Palestinian territories because those areas had been declared “closed military areas Also documented in the reports before us are the assorted restrictions of freedom of movement, curfews, lack of respect for medical personnel which adversely affected the delivery of medical care, and the enhanced suffering of the disabled throughout Palestine. Last, but certainly not the least, the Special Committee further reports on the grievous impact of the events of the past year on the economic situation in the Occupied Territories. Mr. Chairman, These reports continue to be a deep source of concern to my delegation. We are appalled at the continuing disregard of Israel for the human rights of the Palestinian people and other Arabs, and fir the resolutions of the General Assembly and the Security Council. As we have said in the past, no country should be able to dispense with, or ignore the will of the international community. Therefore, there is a need to immediately bring to an end Israeli defiance of United Nations resolutions, while Palestinians and other Arabs must be treated with the dignity and respect they deserve. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
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