The United Nations General Assembly demanded today that Israel tear down its West Bank barrier. The ruling refered to a World Court, or the International Court of Justice (ICJ), decision that Israel was to dismantle the wall and pay compensations to Palestinians which were affected by this 25 foot, 425 mile long "life saving" fence which is just 1/3 complete. The fence is equipt with barbed wire and security towers at certain parts. The vote was 150 in favor, 6 opposed, with 10 countires abstaining.
As expected, Israel voted against this idea, as they claim it keeps them “protected” from the Palestinians. Voting in opposition along with Israel were Australia and the Pacific island states of Marshall Islands, Micronesia and Palau, and of course, the United States. Those who abstained from the vote were Canada, Cameroon, El Salvador, Nauru, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Tonga, Uganda, Uruguay and Vanuatu.
"Thank God that the fate of Israel and of the Jewish people is not decided in this hall," Israeli Ambassador Dan Gillerman said once the voting outcome was decided. "When all is said and done, it is simply outrageous to respond with such vigor to a measure that saves lives and respond with such casual indifference and apathy to a Palestinian campaign that takes lives."
While supporting Israel with over $3 billion per year, America must now decide how to deal with a country who blatenly disregards international law. Don’t they?
"The U.S. is the only country condemned by the World Court for international terrorism-for "the unlawful use of force" for political ends."
~Noam Chomsky
Perhaps not, perhaps this is more of a symbolic decision than anything, as Israel faces no real punishment if they do not comply. And ignoring the rulings made by the world court by the most powerful nations (US, Israel) is not a rare occurance. In 1984, when the case of Military and Paramilitary Activities in and around Nicaragua was completely ignored by the US, who didn’t even show up to hear the verdict.
Where do we go from here?
Al-Kidwa said last week that the Palestinians would stop short of going to the Security Council for a binding resolution, which would likely be vetoed by the United States.
"At a later stage we will go to the Security Council," he said. He denied that the Palestinians were waiting until after the U.S. presidential elections to press their case before the council. Whether John Kerry as president will be of any aid is seriously in question as he has come out both for and against the wall.
Will Israel knock down their “protective barrier?” No signs point to yes, although with larger public attention towards news of the wall cannot help their cause. As Palestinians fight to regain land lost from the constructed wall, Israel contends that the world court has no juridiction over the wall. They have recognized the authority of the Israeli Supreme Court though, which ordered the army to change the route of the barrier in a 20-mile stretch near Jerusalem, saying it was causing too much hardship on the local Palestinian population.
The General Assembly acted after the World Court ruled in a July 9 "advisory opinion" that the barrier, which is still under construction, was illegal because it cut deep into West Bank land to shield settlements built by Israel on territory it seized in the 1967 Middle East War.
“If the goal were security, Israel would have built the fence a few km inside its borders. It could then be a mile high, patrolled on both sides by the IDF, mined with nuclear weapons, utterly impenetrable. Perfect security.
“The problem would be that it would not take valuable Palestinian land and resources (including control of water), drive out the population, and lay the basis for still further expansion as Palestinians flee from the dungeons that are left, like the town of Qalqilya. So to interpret as a land grab seems appropriate.”
~Noam Chomsky July 7
