Palestinians hail 'historic' victory

Palestinians hailed today’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,” he said.

Arafat called the court’s decision “a victory for justice in the land of peace”.

Though the ruling is only advisory – and Israel has said it will not have any bearing on its decisions – Arafat compared it to the international will that led to the fall of the Berlin wall in 1989. “This wall will be removed to build our own state,” he said confidently.

The Palestinian leadership was meeting to discuss its next steps, Arafat said.

“We are proud of this decision,” he said. “We will turn to the United Nations General Assembly, which sent this issue to the court, to discuss it.”

Armed with the ruling, the Palestinians want the UN General Assembly to demand Israel dismantle the barrier. If Israel refuses, the Palestinians want the Security Council to insist – something that could draw a US veto.

“We hope the United States today will see to it that they will work to have Israel comply with the (court’s) resolution,” Palestinian Cabinet Minister Saeb Erekat said.

Demonstrators turned out today near Jerusalem for and against the barrier.

A banner where hundreds were gathering in the West Bank town of al-Ram, near Ramallah, read: “The Israeli wall, longer and higher than Berlin, but just as disgusting.”

“It’s a great decision. We are thrilled. It very clearly de-legitimises the wall and demands that it be pulled down,” said Jamal Juma, co-ordinator of a Palestinian group called The Anti-apartheid Wall Campaign.

Only six miles away, a few dozen Israelis gathered by a concrete section of the fence on the outskirts of Jerusalem, holding pictures and banners of loved ones who were victims of Palestinian attacks. They waved Israeli flags, and displayed a large banner reading: “Fence out terrorism.”

Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Jonathan Peled said: “The International Court has no authority to deal with disputes between Israel and the Palestinians.”