Palestine hails ruling as ‘historic’

PALESTINIANS hailed yesterday’s widely anticipated opinion by the International Court of Justice on the massive West Bank barrier as “historic,” while Israel rejected the world court’s authority in judging the matter.

Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat and his prime minister, Ahmed Qureia, hailed the ruling as the court in The Netherlands was still reading its lengthy decision.

"The international high court decided clearly today that this racist wall is illegal to the root and Israel should stop building it and take down what has already been built of this wall. We welcome this decision," Qureia said. "This is a historic day and a historic decision."