Israel is already taking measures to cushion the blow it is expecting to receive over its separation wall. The International Court of Justice in The Hague, which was asked by the United Nations to examine the legality of the barrier, is to issue its ruling on the wall on July 9, and there is a strong possibility that it will be unfavorable to Israel.
The foreign minister, Silvan Shalom, has discussed the likely fallout with US National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice. Shalom wants neither Palestinian celebrations after the anticipated ruling criticizing the wall — perhaps even calling for its removal — nor a weightier UN Security Council resolution ordering that it be taken down. Rice was non-committal but, going by the strong Washington-Tel Aviv connection spawned by the Bush-Sharon era, the United States would probably veto any such resolution.
Nonetheless, celebrations there will undoubtedly be. The wall is separating people from their families, jobs and schools, from farms, markets, public services and West Bank cities. Perhaps the gravest situation is that the barrier is firming up Israeli control of the Palestinian areas it captured in 1967. Its contours are in effect creating the boundaries of a Palestinian state on land much smaller than it should be. Israel claims the barrier aims to keep out Palestinian bombers, but in the end it is nothing but a bid to annex occupied territory the Palestinians want and need for their future state. If the wall goes, so too shall the dream of a Greater Israel.
Palestinians have taken heart from recent rulings by the Israeli High Court to reduce the hardship the wall is creating. Last week, the court ordered that 30 kilometers of the 700-km barrier be rerouted after it said it was violating the rights of some 35,000 Palestinians. The next day the court went a step further, ordering a temporary ban on another part of the construction. The court let it be known that Tel Aviv could not give Israelis more security by harming Palestinian interests. A choice had to be made and the court chose to side, at least partly, with the Palestinians.
The ruling means completion of the wall could be delayed by up to six months. Parts of the wall might also be taken down and compensation awarded to Palestinians whose land has been appropriated. Some other decent news for the Palestinians: Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has said he will abide by the court’s decision and will revise the route.
Despite the pro-Palestinian moves, celebrations will be muted. To be sure, the court did not condemn the structure itself as illegal and it did not order it torn down, saying the wall was being built for security reasons and not out of political considerations. And if anything, the Israeli court’s pronouncements could sway the ICJ to take a kinder approach toward Israel.
Most important, the ICJ ruling is non-binding. So while a ruling not in its favor might embarrass Israel, it certainly will not be enough to force it dismantle the wall altogether.
