OCCUPIED JERUSALEM, 22 February 2004 — Two days before a World Court hearing on the legality of Israel’s West Bank barrier, the Jewish state yesterday said it would start tearing down part of it today.

Israeli Defense Ministry spokeswoman Rachel Niedak-Ashkenazi said the work to remove an eight km section of the barrier near the West Bank villages of Baka Al-Sharqiya and Zeita had nothing to do with deliberations of the International Court of Justice beginning tomorrow. It had been planned for six months, she said.

“This week the eastern fence will be dismantled,” Niedak-Ashkenazi said, explaining that the barrier in the area would follow the “Green Line” which delineates the Israel-West Bank border.

The International Court of Justice at The Hague will open hearings at the request of the United Nations General Assembly for a non-binding opinion on whether Israel is legally obliged to tear down the barrier.

The Palestinian Authority yesterday criticized 12 Arab countries for not submitting legal arguments to the court asking it to declare the barrier illegal.

Foreign Minister Nabil Shaath said the Palestinian Authority was disappointed that only 10 of the 22 countries in the Arab League saw fit to send written affidavits to the court. “This is a negligence on the part of some Arab countries,” Shaath said, adding that the Palestinian Authority “expected all Arab countries would participate to show political support.” The Palestinian Authority, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Algeria and the Arab League will be among the 15 states and organizations presenting oral arguments at the hearings.