AFP
Israel wages diplomatic offensive over barrier ahead of UN meet
Date: Saturday September 18
JERUSALEM (AFP) - Israeli Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom was heading to the United States on a diplomatic campaign to defend the controversial West Bank barrier ahead of the UN General Assembly.
Israel is seeking to convince critics, notably the European Union, not to support a possible resolution calling on the UN Security Council to condemn Israel over the barrier and possibly impose sanctions.
The Israeli offensive comes in tandem with a drive by its top ally, Washington, to reduce the number of UN resolutions it deems to be anti-Israel during the General Assembly, which opens next week in New York.
Earlier this month, the Palestinian Authority said it would press the Arab bloc at the United Nations to push for a Security Council resolution against the barrier.
In July, the General Assembly overwhelmingly backed a World Court ruling calling on Israel to tear down part of the barrier, a ruling the Jewish state has vowed to ignore.
During his trip, Shalom will meet some 30 foreign ministers including US Secretary of State Colin Powell as well as UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, and representatives from Arab countries, the radio said.
Shalom is expected to present the new route for the barrier drawn up on the advice of Israel's supreme court, which ruled in June that the barrier has to be modified as it infringes on the fundamental rights of tens of thousands of Palestinian residents.
The exact details of the new route have yet to be revealed but it is understood that it will bring parts much closer to the Green Line, the internationally recognized border between Israel and the West Bank.
Israel insists that the barrier's sole aim is to prevent would-be Palestinian attackers from infiltrating its territory.
Palestinians say the montage of concrete blocks, barbed wire, watchtowers and trenches is more akin to a land-grab, as it often juts into their land and could thus significantly shrink the surface of their future state.
Unlike resolutions adopted by the Security Council, resolutions adopted by the General Assembly are not legally binding but do reflect world opinion.
Israel and United States have repeatedly complained about the large number of General Assembly resolutions critical of the Jewish state, many of which are routinely adopted and annually renewed by the world body.
SOURCE
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