THE
HAGUE, July 9 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) - The
International Court of Justice officially Friday, July 9, ruled that
the wall Israel is defiantly building in occupied Palestinian
territories is illegal, should be torn down and Palestinians must be
compensated.
"...the
construction of the wall and its associated regime are contrary to
international law," read the document of the ruling in The Hague,
leaked hours earlier.
The
court said that the wall infringed the rights of Palestinians living
on land occupied by Israel in the 1967 Middle East war.
"The
wall, along the route chosen, and its associated regime, gravely
infringe a number of rights of Palestinians residing in the territory
occupied by Israel, and the infringements resulting from that route
cannot be justified by military exigencies or by the requirements of
national security or public order," said the ruling, which came
in line with a document earlier leaked to the press.
The
court said the wall should be removed and compensation paid for damage
it had caused.
"Israel
is under an obligation to make reparation for all damage caused by the
construction of the wall in the occupied Palestinian territory,"
according to the leaked advisory opinion.
The
judges also question the route of the wall determined by Israel,
saying they are "not convinced that the specific course Israel
has chosen for the wall was necessary to attain its security
objectives."
Palestinians
have accused Israel of seeking to pre-empt the boundaries of any
future two-state settlement to their bloody conflict with the wall,
which takes the form of both a fence and a concrete wall at times.
The
600km-long separation wall will cut occupied Jerusalem off from the
rest of the West Bank.
It
will eventually snake some 900 kilometers (540 miles) along the West
Bank and leave even larger swathes of its territory on the Israeli
side.
American
Objection
The
court's decision was backed by all but one of the 15 judges.
Fourteen
justices supported the decision and the sole opponent was the American
judge, Thomas Buerghenthal, it reported.
Buergenthal
was supported by the Dutch judge, Pieter Kooijmans, in his rejection
of the call for all countries to act against the project. The other 13
judges ruled in favor of this call.
"All
States are under an obligation not to recognize the illegal situation
resulting from the construction of the wall and not to render aid or
assistance in maintaining the situation created by such
construction," the ruling says, according to documents obtained
by the Israeli daily.
The
ruling includes a lengthy analysis of the legal situation and of the
history of the Israeli occupation in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
Parts of the wall constructed within the Green Line are not included
in the court's decision.
The
ruling also says: "Israel is bound to comply with its obligation
to respect the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination
and its obligations under international humanitarian law and
international human rights law. Furthermore, it must ensure freedom of
access to the Holy Places that came under its control."
The
ICJ was asked to deliberate on the issue of the security fence by a
United Nations General Assembly resolution last December, and its
decision, which is advisory in nature, will be presented to the world
body.
Confident
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The ICJ said the "the construction of the wall and its associated regime are contrary to international law"
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Palestinian
President Yasser Arafat the ruling, saying Ramallah said the ruling
"is a victory to all liberated peoples across the world".
Arafat
said Thursday, July 8, that the full confidence in the world court.
"I
believe the court in The Hague is capable of stopping the construction
of the fence that damages our people," he was quoted by Israel's Ha'aretz
newspaper as saying in Ramallah.
Ha'aretz
expected that the Palestinians will seek operative application of the
court's conclusions, in case Israel refuses to adopt the
recommendations of the international court.
The
Palestinian representative in the United Nations, Nasser Al-Qidwa and
diplomats from Arab countries at the UN, plan to request an emergency
session of the General Assembly where the results of the court's
decision will be presented, the Israeli daily added.
Israel
has already prepared its response on the assumption that it will come
in for criticism from the court.
Israel
will seek to block the issue from reaching the Security Council, with
the assistance of the United States, which had blocked many drafts
condemning the wall, according to the Israeli daily.
The
ruling came after Israel's Supreme Court ordered the
government Wednesday, June 30, to change a large section
of its West Bank controversial separation wall, saying the current
route violates the human rights of the Palestinian population.
According
to a report by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian
Affairs (OCHA) with the competition of the wall, 30 percent of the
West Bank population, or some 680,000 people, will be "directly
harmed."
Last
October, the UN General Assembly overwhelmingly passed a resolution,
demanding Tel Aviv to "stop
and reserve" the construction of its separation
wall.
Another
UN report underlined that the controversial barrier constitutes illegal
annexation of Palestinian territory.
The
defiant Israeli government of Ariel Sharon approved
last October a new 100-million-dollar section of the controversial
barrier.
