U.N. vote on Mideast barrier expected Tuesday
UNITED NATIONS (CNN) -- The U.N. General Assembly vote on a resolution supporting the world court's ruling on Israel's West Bank barrier has been postponed to Tuesday, said a U.N. spokeswoman.
"Many changes will be made to the draft between today and tomorrow at the request of the European Union," said Michelle Montas, spokeswoman for the assembly's president.
The latest draft of the resolution demanding Israel comply with the International Court of Justice's July 9 advisory opinion and tear down the barrier was to have been distributed to the General Assembly late Monday afternoon, said Nasser Al-Kidwa, Palestinian U.N. representative.
Al-Kidwa said he expected the vote to come around 3 p.m. Tuesday.
"The [European Union] is a part of the negotiating," he said. "Everyone needs to see a final version of the text."
Al-Kidwa asked for the resolution last week following the court's advisory ruling. The new resolution also would be nonbinding.
The opinion was sought by the General Assembly after it adopted a resolution in October proposed by Arab states demanding that "Israel stop and reverse the construction of the [barrier] in the occupied Palestinian territory," the court noted.
The court said that Israel's West Bank barrier is "contrary to international law" because it infringes on the rights of Palestinians. The court urged the Israelis remove it from occupied land. (Full story)
The court also said that Israel is obligated to return confiscated land or make reparations for the destruction or damage to homes, businesses and farms affected by the barrier's construction.
Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon ordered construction of the barrier to continue despite the ruling. (Full story)
Israel has argued that the barrier is "temporary" and its "sole purpose is to enable it effectively to combat terrorist attacks launched from the West Bank," the court noted.
The court said that while Israel is entitled to protect its citizens, there is no persuasive evidence that the barrier is necessary to attain Israel's "security objectives."
Palestinian leaders say the barrier amounts to an illegitimate land grab by Israelis and an attempt by Sharon to unilaterally set the borders between Israel and a Palestinian state, rather than negotiating with them as part of a final settlement.
The Palestinians also charge that the plan violates the "road map" to peace, the series of confidence-building measures and negotiations designed to lead to the establishment of a Palestinian state side-by-side with Israel.
The plan is sponsored by the so-called Mideast Quartet of the United States, Russia, the European Union and the United Nations.
About a third of the planned 425-mile barrier has been built since 2002. In some areas, the barrier is a fence; in others, it takes the form of a concrete wall. (Interactive: West Bank barrier)
The world court said the barrier "gravely" infringes on a number of rights of Palestinians living in the West Bank and "constitutes breaches by Israel of various of its obligations under international humanitarian law."
It concluded that Israel is obligated under international law not only to stop building the barrier but also to dismantle the existing structure.
Al-Kidwa said last week that the Palestinians would stop short of going to the U.N. Security Council for a binding resolution, which would likely be vetoed by the United States. (Full story)
"At a later stage we will go to the Security Council," he said. He denied the Palestinians were waiting until after the U.S. presidential elections in November.
What the Palestinians want is "as broad an international consensus as possible of acceptance of that advisory opinion and on the call for compliance. ... That is the aim now," al-Kidwa said.
Israel is not listed as one of the states recognizing the compulsory jurisdiction of the 15-member International Court of Justice, according to the court's Web site.
The court, established in 1945, is the main legal body of the United Nations and is usually called upon to settle disputes between states. It is the successor of the Permanent Court of International Justice of the League of Nations -- also known as the World Court.
Israel seized the West Bank from Jordan and Gaza from Egypt during the 1967 Six-Day War and began building settlements there soon after.
There are about 230,000 Israelis living in West Bank settlements. Gaza is home to about 7,500 Jewish settlers.
The Israel Defense Forces says on its Web site that the "Anti-Terrorism Fence ... substantially improves the ability of the Israel Defense Forces to prevent the infiltration of terrorists and criminal elements into Israel."
A graphic on the site said that since September 2000, more than 500 Israelis have been killed in suicide attacks that originated from the West Bank when there was no barrier, but only one suicide bomber came from the Gaza Strip, where there is a barrier.
The ruling was the second against the barrier in recent weeks. Israel's high court ruled June 30 that a section of the barrier under construction must be rerouted to avoid infringing on the lives of 35,000 Palestinians.
The Israeli court reviewed a 25-mile (40 kilometer) section of the barrier, and ruled that Israel's government must redraw 19 miles (30 kilometers) of the fence that would run west and northwest of Jerusalem. The court halted construction on the section in March. (Full story)
