UN General Assembly demands Israel tear down wall
But only those sections built on occupied territories.
Rome (AsiaNews) "All States are under an obligation not to recognize the illegal situation resulting from the construction of the wall in the occupied Palestinian territory, including in and around East Jerusalem." It is in these terms that the overwhelming majority of members of the General Assembly of the United Nations embraced the recommendations made in the July 9 advisory opinion by the International Court of Justice in The Hague. The resolution adopted instructs Israel to dismantle those sections of the security barrier built outside its borders on West Bank territory.
Unlike Security Council resolutions those by the General Assembly are not however binding. Israel has already dismissed the vote, but the resolution still carries moral and political weight. In effect, 150 countries voted in favour compared to only 6 against (among them Israel and the US) with 10 abstentions. Israel's main ally the US had announced in advance that it would vote against the resolution arguing that it was "imbalanced." The vote by the 25 members of the European Union (EU) provoked harsh criticism from Israel's ambassador to the UN, Dan Gillerman, who stated the EU acted "disgracefully," "terribly one-sided" on this resolution.
Not only Israel as the "occupying power" must remove the illegal, albeit defensive barrier, from the occupied lands, but the UN asks the international community not recognise the reality the barrier created and not assist in maintaining it. The resolution, brought forward by Jordan, also calls on Secretary-General Kofi Annan to set up a register of all damage caused by its construction. Finally, the resolution urges Israelis and Palestinian to immediately meet their obligations under the Roadmap (which includes the obligation of the Palestinian National Authority to fight terrorism) so that a Palestinian state be set up alongside Israel.
Despite the vote Israel announced that it would continue building the barrier. Ra'anan Gissin, an adviser to Prime Minister Sharon, said that "the building of the fence will go on. Israel will not stop building it or abdicate its inalienable right to self-defence."
.png)
17/11/2003
