World - Reuters
Israel AG Says Shift Barrier to Avoid Sanctions
Date: Thu, Aug 19, 2004
JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israel's attorney general urged the government Thursday to swiftly reroute its barrier in the occupied West Bank to minimize the risk of international sanctions after the World Court deemed the project illegal.
"It is hard to exaggerate the negative ramifications the World Court ruling will have on Israel, even in matters that diverge from the specific issue of the barrier," Menachem Mazuz wrote in an 84-page report to Prime Minister Ariel Sharon (news - web sites).
"The decision creates a different legal reality for Israel in the international arena, one liable to be used as a catalyst for actions against Israel in international and national forums, even sanctions," he added.
Mazuz recommended that the path of the barrier, which Israel says is meant to keep out Palestinian suicide bombers but which Palestinians denounce as a disguised bid to annex territory, be redrawn in line with a ruling by Israel's own High Court.
It ordered the government in June to shift sections of the barrier to avoid cutting off Palestinian villagers from their land. But it also ruled Israel had the right to build a barrier for security reasons on territory it considers "disputed."
Israeli officials said amended plans drafted after the High Court ruling would shift the massive wire-and-concrete construction closer to the Israeli-West Bank boundary.
Mazuz recommended the Israeli government "make a great effort, as soon as possible, to adjust the route of the fence and the arrangements for those living along it in accordance with the High Court ruling."
He also said that the new route should be anchored by a decision of Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's cabinet.
"Such a decision will deliver the message that Israel is implementing international law in the building of the barrier according to rulings of its own court," Mazuz said, according to a statement released by the Justice Ministry.
The International Court of Justice, a U.N. body based in The Hague (news - web sites), ruled that the barrier was illegal wherever it stood on land Israel captured in war and said it should be torn down.
The U.N. General Assembly passed a resolution echoing the World Court's decision and Palestinian leaders are now seeking U.N. Security Council action to hit Israel with sanctions.
Palestinians say the barrier is an attempt by Israel to set a de facto border that would deny them a viable state as envisaged by a U.S.-backed "road map" peace plan.
SOURCE
FAIR USE NOTICE
This site contains copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of environmental, political, human rights, economic, democracy, scientific, and social justice issues, etc. We believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use', you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.