UNITED
NATIONS, November 28 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) - U.N.
Secretary General Kofi Annan on Friday reiterated that Israel’s
controversial West Bank separation wall is a setback for the peace
process, saying that the barrier is a “deeply counterproductive
act” in violation of International Law.
In
a 12-page report released one day after Israel said it would speed up
the building of the barrier, Annan said that he recognized Israel’s
“right and duty” to protect its people.
“However
that duty should not be carried out in a way that is in contradiction
to international law,” Annan said in the report carried by Agence
France-Presse (AFP).
The
U.N. chief said the wall’s construction was a blow to hopes for a
two-state peace plan being pushed by the United Nations.
Counterproductive
"When
each party should be making good-faith confidence-building gestures,
the barrier's construction in the West Bank cannot... be seen as
anything but a deeply counterproductive act,” Annan said.
Israel
claims that the 600 kilometers (320 miles) barrier is necessary to
protect its citizens against Palestinian bombers.
But
the Palestinians charge that it is intended to predetermine the
borders of any independent state they obtain in the future, as many
resistance groups maintain that attacks would be stopped only with an
end to the occupation.
Annan
backed Palestinian complaints, agreeing the wall is depriving them of
fertile land crucial to their economy, already troubled by a
long-standing occupation and almost-daily incursions.
“Completed
sections of the barrier have had a serious impact on agriculture in
what is considered the 'breadbasket' of the West Bank,” Annan said.
He
added that checkpoints to allow Palestinian access to land already cut
off by the barrier were frequently closed, cutting them off from
farmland, hospitals, clinics, schools and essential services.
“Such
access cannot compensate for the incomes lost from the barrier's
destruction of property land and businesses,” Annan said.
“This
raises concerns over violations of the rights of the Palestinians to
work, health, education and an adequate standard of living,” he
added.
An
earlier U.N. report had said that more than 400,000 other Palestinians
living to the east of the wall will need to cross it to get to their
farms, jobs and services.
Immediately
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The barrier will run as deep as 22 kilometers into West Bank land and cut off some 400,000 Palestinians
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The
U.N. secretary general said that when completed the barrier will run
as deep as 22 kilometers into West Bank land and cut off some 400,000
Palestinians.
Annan’s
report was ordered last month by the U.N. General Assembly, which passed
a resolution condemning the construction of the barrier and calling on
Israel to stop building immediately.
Passed
by a vote of 144-4, with 12 countries abstaining, the resolution
warned the wall would "prejudge future negotiations and make the
two-state solution physically impossible to implement and would cause
further humanitarian hardship for the Palestinians.
But
Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon vowed
Thursday to work more quickly to finish the construction despite
fierce worldwide opposition, including from close ally the United
States.
“We
are speeding up the construction of the fence and we will not stop. It
is vital for the security of the state and it is our
responsibility,” Sharon said, less than two days after the U.S. took
a rare punitive measure against Sharon’s settlement policy and the
wall construction.
A
U.N. report underlined last month that the wall marked illegal
annexation of Palestinian territory and must be
condemned by the world community.
Few
hours after the U.N. report, the defiant Israeli government of Sharon
approved Wednesday, October 1, a new 100-million-dollar
section of the barrier.
Observers
said that Israel has warded off world-wide pressures to dismantle the
barrier under an implicit agreement from Washington.
They
cited the veto
the U.S. used to scupper an Arab-proposed U.N. Security Council
resolution condemning the barrier on October 15.
Along
with the European Union and Russia, the United Nations and United
States are co-sponsors of a "roadmap" for Middle East peace
that envisions the creation of a Palestinian state by 2005.
U.S.
President George Bush had previously described the wall as "a
problem" obstructing the creation of a
Palestinian state.
However,
he dropped
the term four days later when Sharon was visiting him in the White
House.
Earlier,
a leading Israeli official said Israel was about to back some new West
Bank settlements, in violation of the U.S.-backed roadmap.
