Tear it down! — Israel's wall illegal

The World Court of Justice strongly condemned Israel's West 
Bank wall as illegal saying it imposed hardship on thousands of 
Palestinians and must be torn down. Of the 15 judges that make up 
the World Court only the representative of the United States 
voted against the decision.

The court called on the UN Security Council and the General 
Assembly to stop the barrier's construction. However, the US, the 
most ardent supporter of Zionist Israel, may veto any Security 
Council decision.

"The construction ... constitutes breaches by Israel of its 
obligations under applicable international humanitarian law. 
Israel is under an obligation ... to dismantle forthwith the 
structure", the court's head judge, Shi Jiuyong of China, said in 
the ruling.

On Palestinian land

The wall curves at points deep into the West Bank around illegal 
settlements built by Israeli squatters on Palestinian land. The 
wall, which is about one third built, is to be 370 miles (625km) 
long.

The World Court of Justice which is the UN's top legal body, 
acknowledged Israel had a duty to protect its citizens but said 
it must do so within the law and should compensate Palestinians 
for homes and land lost or damaged by the building of the 
barrier.

"The court considers that the construction of the wall and its 
associate regime creates a 'fait accompli' on the ground that 
could well become permanent, in which case ... it would be 
tantamount to de facto annexation", said the ruling.

A victory

Palestinian President Yasser Arafat said the Court's decision 
was, "a victory for the Palestinian people and for all the free 
peoples of the world".

The wall is clearly a land grab that robs Palestinians of 
territory they have lived on for centuries and need if a 
Palestinian state is to be established. If the wall were built 
for security reasons, as Israelis claim, they should have built 
it within the Israeli border, not deep inside the Palestinian 
territories.

The wall has trapped thousands of Palestinians in enclaves cut 
off from fields, schools, markets, public services and cities. If 
it is completed as planned, hundreds of thousands of Palestinians 
will be trapped between Israel and the Palestinian territory of 
the West Bank. They will not be able to reach their schools, 
jobs, hospitals, fields, and other facilities. This situation 
will lead them to leave the trapped area, which will then be 
annexed by Israelis.

It is an apartheid wall built on the basis of ethnic origin.

Palestinian representatives are expected to ask the UN General 
Assembly to adopt a resolution affirming the court's ruling.

Incredible claim

Making the incredible claim that the issue of the wall was a 
"political matter" the White House swept the decision aside.

"We do not believe that that's the appropriate forum [the World 
Court] to resolve what is a political issue. This is an issue 
that should be resolved through the process that has been put in 
place, specifically the road map", said White House spokesman 
Scott McClellan on behalf of George W Bush.

About 150 demonstrators outside the Court when the decision was 
announced, held banners that made a call to "Boycott Israel" and 
"Away with Apartheid". They chanted slogans against the Israeli 
occupation of Palestine and against the Apartheid Land-Grab Wall. 
Some of the demonstrators were Orthodox Jewish Americans.