Equipo Nizkor - UNSC S/2016/583 - Letter from Israel in the wake of several attacks committed by Palestinians against Israelis.

United Nations
Security Council

S/2016/583

Distr.: General
1 July 2016
Original: English

Identical letters dated 30 June 2016 from the Permanent Representative of Israel to the United Nations addressed to the Secretary-General and the President of the Security Council

Today, before the Security Council gathered to discuss the situation in the Middle East, the people of Israel awoke to yet another tragic day of terror. Hallel Yaffa Ariel, a 13-year-old girl from Kiryat Arba, was murdered in the middle of the night by a 17-year-old Palestinian terrorist. The attacker broke into her bedroom, locked the door, pulled out a knife and stabbed her multiple times while she was still sleeping in her bed. Hallel succumbed to her wounds shortly after the arrival of the paramedics. After committing this cowardly act, the young terrorist then stabbed a security guard who arrived at the scene, seriously wounding him.

Just yesterday, Hallel was performing at a dance recital and, today, she was buried by her loved ones. At her funeral, Hallel's mother Rena spoke before her daughter's body and asked: "How do you eulogize a 13-and-a-half-year-old girl? Your mom and dad are here. Tell me what should I say? Tell me the words you use to eulogize a flower."

Just a few hours after Hallel's funeral, another Palestinian terrorist went on a stabbing spree in a market in the coastal city of Netanya, seriously wounding a 40-year-old man and slightly wounding a 62-year-old woman.

The horrifying murder of an innocent girl in her bed sheds light on the consequences of the ongoing Palestinian incitement. Generation after generation of young Palestinians is educated to hate Israelis and idolize terrorists.

There is a direct link between the inciting rhetoric used by the Palestinian leadership and the despicable murder of Hallel Yaffa Ariel today.

Last week, in his speech to the European Parliament, Palestinian President Abbas repeated the outrageous lie that Israel seeks to poison the Palestinian water supply. He did not hesitate to issue such baseless accusations by saying that certain rabbis in Israel have said very clearly to their government that our water should be poisoned in order to have Palestinians killed. This vicious slander is rooted in the centuries-old accusations against Jews for poisoning wells and is quite simply a blood libel.

With this endless stream of incitement coming from the Palestinian leadership and the lack of condemnation by the international community, it is no surprise that these words of hate translate into acts of violence against innocent Israelis.

Members of the international community must recognize the consequences that these words hold. The sad truth is that peace will not come as long as President Abbas and the Palestinian leadership continue to glorify violence and encourage a culture of death instead of seeking ways to improve the lives of their people.

I call upon the Security Council to condemn the cruel murder of Hallel Yaffa Ariel and the terror attack in Netanya, in which two innocent Israelis were injured, in a clear and decisive manner and to act to stop the Palestinian incitement immediately.

I should be grateful if you would have the present letter distributed as a document of the Security Council.

(Signed) Danny Danon
Ambassador
Permanent Representative

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01Jul16

Letter from Israel in the wake of several attacks committed by Palestinians against Israelis