OCCUPIED JERUSALEM, July 9 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) - Defiant Israel said Friday, July 9, it would ignore the International court of Justice’s (ICJ) ruling that the separation wall is illegal and should be removed.

The Palestinians, however, called the ruling, backed by a 14-1 vote with the lone dissenter US judge Thomas Buerghenthal, a "historic decision" issued by the UN highest judicial authority.

The European Union also hailed the ruling, again urging Israel to take down the wall that encroaches on Palestinian lands, but the United States - which had earlier killed off many UN draft resolutions condemning Israel for the wall - considered it not "appropriate".

"Israel has no reason to submit to a plainly absurd decision which pays no account to the role of the security fence in the fight against terrorism," a senior Israeli government official told Agence France-Presse (AFP) on condition of anonymity.

Israeli government spokesman Avi Pazner claimed the ICJ had "no jurisdiction" to rule over the wall and said that it should only come up for debate after Israel's planned pullout of the Gaza Strip is completed next year.

With the only voice of opposition coming from the US judge, Washington - which had blocked Security Council draft resolutions condemning Israel, called the ICJ’s ruling inappropriate.

"We don't believe it is appropriate that this came out in that venue," White House spokesman Scott McClellan told reporters en route to a campaign event by US President George W. Bush in Pennsylvania.

"We believe it is a political issue," McClellan said, as Bush is facing an uphill Presidential battle to win over the influential Jewish community for the November vote.

But the ICJ President judge Shi Jiuyong of China rebuffed the Israeli and US claims, saying the court had the jurisdiction to give a non-binding advisory opinion requested by the UN General Assembly.

"The Court cannot accept the view... that it has no jurisdiction because of the 'political' character of the question posed..." he said. "The court accordingly has jurisdiction to give the advisory opinion."

It added that Israel should pay compensation to Palestinians whose property had been damaged by the construction work.

Even before reports of the verdict emerged, the Israeli government had made clear it had no intention of halting construction work which is due to be completed by the end of next year and should eventually stretch for some 700 kilometers (430 miles).

Palestinian officials called the ruling "historic" and a victory for "international legitimacy".

"This is an historic day and an historic decision that has been delivered by the world's highest legal authority," Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qorei told a press conference in his West Bank offices.

"The court has said to the world, to Israel and to the United States, that the wall is illegal as it is built on other people's land, on occupied territory."

Palestinian President Yasser Arafat's chief aide weighed in, saying international sanctions should be imposed on Israel after the world court’s ruling.

"The decision of the court is a victory for the rights of Palestinians and for international legitimacy," Nabil Abu Rudeina told AFP.

"This decision will lead to the isolation of Israel, and the international community should impose sanctions against Israel, for it is violating the law and international relations."

Meanwhile, the European Commission again urged Israel to take down the separation wall as the verdict of the world court was read on.

"As you know, the EU has stated in numerous occasions that it is particularly concerned by the route marked out (..) in the occupied West Bank, which is in departure of the armistice line of 1949 and is in contradiction to the relevant provisions of international law," a spokesman for the European Union executive said.

Outside the legal aspects of the case, the European Union "is concerned that the envisaged departure of the route from the green line could prejudge future negotiations and make the two-state solution physically impossible to implement."

"Therefore, the EU continues to call on Israel to remove the barrier from inside the occupied Palestinian territories, including in and around East Jerusalem," the spokesman said, noting that the commission was "particularly concerned at the negative effect of the barrier causing humanitarian and economic hardships to the Palestinians."

The 15-member court's advisory opinions are nonbinding but bear moral, historic and political weight, the International Herald Tribune reported Friday.

The court already called for the UN General Assembly and Security Council to take action to halt the construction work.

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.