Palestine’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations Riyad Mansour has sent three identical letters to the UN secretary-general, the president of the UN Security Council for October (Greece), and the president of the UN General Assembly, warning of a dangerous escalation in Israeli measures against Palestinian civilians across the occupied West Bank, including Al Quds (occupied East Jerusalem), particularly in Al Khalil governorate.
According to the Palestinian news agency (WAFA) on Tuesday, Mansour said Israeli occupation authorities had imposed a tight military siege and a comprehensive closure on Al Khalil governorate since last Friday, subjecting nearly half a million Palestinians to collective punishment.
He said the measures included forced displacement, the demolition of homes and other facilities, mass arrests, mistreatment of Palestinians, and the seizure of funds and property, as well as the closure of the Ibrahimi Mosque.
Mansour also noted that cities and refugee camps in the northern West Bank continued to suffer the consequences of forced displacement and widespread destruction resulting from Israeli operations.
He described these actions as a grave violation of international law, including the Fourth Geneva Convention.
He said the number of families forcibly displaced from their homes in the besieged areas, particularly Deir Baha and Al-Jalda, had risen to 488, comprising around 3,171 Palestinians, most of them women, children, older people and patients.
He added that around 500 homes had been destroyed and that a large-scale arrest campaign had been conducted in central Al Khalil, surrounding towns and villages, and nearby refugee camps.
