UNITED NATIONS, 9 December 2003 — The UN General Assembly voted yesterday for a Palestinian-initiated resolution asking the International Court of Justice whether Israel was legally obligated to tear down its separation barrier.
The vote was 90 to 8 with 74 abstentions. Opposing the resolution were the United States, Israel, Australia, Ethiopia and the Pacific islands of Nauru, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, and Palau.
In Jerusalem a senior adviser to Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon condemned the vote. Raanan Gissin said: “This is an attempt... to de-legitimize the right of the Jewish people to have a Jewish state that they can defend.”
Almost all delegations opposed the barrier that juts into Palestinian territory. But the European Union joined the unusually high number of abstentions, believing that seeking an opinion from the court was legally questionable and would work against a political dialogue.
Arab states asked for the emergency session after UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan reported on Nov. 28 that building the barrier into the West Bank was causing serious harm to Palestinians. He said Israel had a right to defend its citizens but that duty should not contradict international law.
The Hague-based UN court is not obligated to give an opinion on the barrier. The tribunal was set up to settle legal disputes between states and give advisory opinions, if it decides they fall under its jurisdiction.
Nevertheless an opinion by the court would add to diplomatic pressure on Israel and carries more legal weight than a General Assembly resolution, which is non-binding.
