Israel’s ‘Berlin Wall’ wrecks peace hopes, say Palestinians

PALESTINIANS urged the World Court yesterday to declare Israel’s ‘Berlin Wall’ illegal, arguing it would wreck the chances of a peaceful settlement in the Middle East.

The International Court of Justice in The Hague began three days of hearings on the legality of the barrier slicing through Palestinian territory, bringing Israel’s occupation policies before an international tribunal for the first time.

The hearing came a day after a Palestinian suicide bomber killed eight Israelis and wounded dozens on a Jerusalem bus. The Al Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigade, an armed group with ties to Yasser Arafat’s Fatah movement, claimed responsibility.

Israel said the attack showed the need for the barrier, designed to impede terrorism. But the Palestinians argued the structure only fuelled the resentment that inspires suicide bombers.

Though the court cannot demand action, the Palestinians hoped for a clear-cut judgment that would build irresistible pressure on Israel to dismantle the barrier, which is disrupting the lives of hundreds of thousands of West Bank residents.

“This wall is not about security. It is about entrenching the occupation and the de facto annexation of large areas of the Palestinian land,” the chief Palestinian delegate, Nasser Al-Kidwa, told the tribunal.

Israel, the United States and the European countries stayed away from the oral hearings to underscore their distrust of the process.

“We don’t want to give legitimacy to the proceedings,” said Israeli legal adviser Daniel Taub.

Israel said the Palestinian General Assembly referral to the court is “absolutely silent” on the issue of violence. “It is a travesty and reflects a great prejudice and imbalance within the requesting organ.”

In the West Bank town of Ramallah, Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat yesterday urged Palestinians to “make their voices heard” against Israel’s separation barrier.

“This is another Berlin Wall,” Mr Arafat said. “Peace will not be achieved between the two peoples and in the entire region in the presence of the wall of annexation, expansion and apartheid.”