ICJ Rules Israeli Barrier in West Bank Violates International Law

Last week, the highest U.N. court ruled that Israel's barrier in the West Bank violates international law and urged the United Nations to take action to stop its construction.

The International Court of Justice (ICJ)overwhelmingly dismissed Israel's arguments that the barrier was essential for its security and said the system of walls and fences went too far in infringing on the freedom of the Palestinians.

The court also ordered Israel to pay reparations to Palestinians that have been harmed by the barrier and return the land seized to construct the wall.

However, Israel is highly unlikely to tear down the security wall, despite the International Court's decision.

"The International Court in The Hague has no authority to deal with disputes between Israel and the Palestinians," Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Jonathan Peled said in Jerusalem.

Since June 2002, Israel has been building an extensive barrier system between the State of Israel and the West Bank. The Israeli government claimed the barrier is necessary to prevent suicide bombings and incursions by Palestinian militants. It is dictated purely on the grounds of security for Israel.

The Israeli government plans to build over 700 kms of concrete walls, razor wire and electrified fencing up to a height of 25 feet (8 metres), which is taller than the Berlin Wall and more than four times longer. Around 150 km is already built and the wall is due for completion by the end of 2005.

The barrier runs north-south between Israel and the West Bank and between West and East Jerusalem. At certain points the barrier reaches 16 km (some 10 miles) into the West Bank, encroaching into internationally recognised Palestinian territory.

Although the fence is only a quarter built, it has already resulted in an astonishing reduction in suicide attacks in Israel. In the past four months, two Israelis have died in suicide attacks, compared with 166 killed during the same time frame at the height of the terrorism.

However, the fence has caused much hardship to Palestinians, and thousands of hectares of Palestinian farmland and at least 13 Palestinian villages will end up on the Israeli side of the barrier while other communities are divided or separated from their farmland and services. Its route will also put Israel in control of a significant portion of the West Bank's limited water resources, affecting the lives of tens of thousands of Palestinian families. In addition to this, it causes serious problems in travelling to work, school, health centres, markets and places of worship etc.

The ruling by the ICJ was greeted by Christians who have been taking part in hunger strikers in a tent on the northern outskirts of Jerusalem. The strikes were led by Israeli-Arab Knesset member Doctor Azmi Bishara, who has been supported by people from across the Palestinian and Israeli religious and secular societies as well as by members of the international community. Members of the World Council of Churches' Ecumenical Accompaniment Programme in Palestine and Israel (EAPPI), whose mission it is to accompany Palestinians and Israelis in their non-violent actions and concerted advocacy efforts to end the occupation, also joined the non-violent action.

"We are starving here, but we are very hopeful. We want to make it clear that this Wall means life or death for Jerusalem and the whole of Palestinian society," Bishara said. "This is not only about apartheid, separating Israelis from Palestinians. It's also about annexation of land, separating Palestinians from Palestinians and getting rid of Palestinians. For the Palestinian society, the Wall is absolutely destructive because it separates families and destroys economic and cultural life and people's ability to go to school and work."

"We are ready to sacrifice ourselves for peace; for the love between people," Suheil Khader, the deputy mayor of A-Ram, said. "I am tired but when I speak about the suffering of my people, I forget my own personal suffering. The suffering of the people of Palestine is bigger than the suffering of my empty stomach."

The conflict between the State of Israel and the Palestinian people has been destroying lives on both sides for more than 50 years. Over the last three years, 455 Palestinian children and 94 Israeli children have been killed as a result of the activities of the Israeli Defence Forces and suicide bombings.