The United Nations General Assembly voted last night to request an "advisory opinion" from the International Court of Justice at The Hague on Israel's counter-terrorism partition/fence. The vote on the PA-sponsored resolution was 90 in favor, including all the Arab countries; 74 abstentions, including Russia and Europe; and the U.S., Australia, the Marshall Islands and Micronesia voting against.
Israel has decided to cooperate with the international tribunal, and will present a case in favor of the separation based on its "inherent right to self-defense against terrorism of the most brutal kind."
Israel's Ambassador to the UN, Dan Gillerman, told the General Assembly last night that in actuality, the responsibility for the partition lies with Yasser Arafat: "Let me be perfectly clear. This is the Arafat Fence. This is the fence that Arafat built. His terrorism initiated it, and made its construction inevitable. If there were no Arafat, there would be no fence!"
Gillerman acknowledged that Israel wishes to act within the limits of international law. "But," he said, "we reject attempts to incorrectly and selectively apply that law, to misrepresent the nature and purpose of the security fence, and to ignore the context in which Israel's actions are taken."
Before the construction of the fence, 54 Israelis were murdered by terrorists in the Wadi Ara area, between Hadera and Afula, while since the partition was built, the number of victims has been three.
The Hague Tribunal, known as the ICJ, was established following World War II, and it resolves disputes between countries that agree to accept its authority. It also delivers non-binding advisory opinions at the request of the UN and other international organizations. The ICJ is not connected with the International Criminal Court in The Hague, the purpose of which is to try war criminals.
It is clear that the Palestinian Authority's purpose in bringing this proposal is to paint Israel as a country that violates international law.
Gillerman, whose full remarks can be read here, continued:
"The security fence is a temporary, proven, necessary and non-violent measure adopted, in accordance with international and local law, to defend the people of Israel from a continuing and vicious campaign of terrorism that has killed hundred of innocent civilians and will kill thousands more, if not prevented. As long as the Palestinian leadership continues to flout its most basic obligations to fight terrorism, there is simply no alternative to it...
"The fence is not a border, and has no political significance. It does not change the legal status of the territory in any way...
"If built along the 1949 Armistice Line (the so-called Green line), which was never intended to, nor ever has, enjoyed legal status as an international boundary, the fence would constitute an arbitrary and artificial line that simply would not adequately fulfill its sole function - the prevention of terrorist attacks against civilians. The route of the fence is determined not by politics, but by a difficult and painful balance between security, humanitarian and topographical considerations.
"Israel is working to ensure that the fence does not cause undue hardship to local Palestinian residents, both through extensive consultations with the local population over the route of the fence, and through an active process of appeals and judicial review. And we will continue to engage in this process and to seek individual solutions to problems that arise..."
Despite the many pictures being shown in the international media of a tall concrete wall, more than 97% of the planned 720-km. (480-mile) security fence will consist of a chain-link fence system. Less than 3% of the partition will be constructed of concrete. The short concrete sections are intended not only to stop terrorists from infiltrating, but also to block them from shooting at Israeli vehicles traveling on main highways alongside the pre-1967 Green Line.
Ambassador Gillerman explained why those who say that the fence harms the peace process and future negotiations are "mistaken and unjustified." He said that if anything, "the fence will help take terrorism out of the equation, restore calm, and encourage an environment in which negotiations and the implementation of the Road Map can take place."
He noted that in the past two months, Israeli security forces have foiled 27 attempts to bring death and destruction to Israel's cities, including 14 attempted suicide attacks. He held up pictures of 9-year-old Tomer Almog, who was murdered in a recent attack, and of his 10-year-old brother Oran who lost most of his vision in the same bombing.
Gillerman had strong criticism of UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, saying his report on the fence lacked fairness and balance, and "incomprehensibly" makes no reference to the PA terrorist war against Israel.
Gillerman decried the UN's "duplicity, hypocrisy and double standard," in not giving importance to Israel's need for self-defense, in not condemning actions such as Syria's murder of 20,000 of its own citizens, and in not passing a resolution to protect Israeli children as it passed one to protect Arab children in the PA.
Gillerman said, "How dare the people who would not even consider protecting Israeli children by words, tell Israel that it cannot protect them by deeds. How low, how deep and how callous can the duplicity, hypocrisy and double standard of this body deteriorate?"
Israel has decided to cooperate with the international tribunal, and will present a case in favor of the separation based on its "inherent right to self-defense against terrorism of the most brutal kind."
Israel's Ambassador to the UN, Dan Gillerman, told the General Assembly last night that in actuality, the responsibility for the partition lies with Yasser Arafat: "Let me be perfectly clear. This is the Arafat Fence. This is the fence that Arafat built. His terrorism initiated it, and made its construction inevitable. If there were no Arafat, there would be no fence!"
Gillerman acknowledged that Israel wishes to act within the limits of international law. "But," he said, "we reject attempts to incorrectly and selectively apply that law, to misrepresent the nature and purpose of the security fence, and to ignore the context in which Israel's actions are taken."
Before the construction of the fence, 54 Israelis were murdered by terrorists in the Wadi Ara area, between Hadera and Afula, while since the partition was built, the number of victims has been three.
The Hague Tribunal, known as the ICJ, was established following World War II, and it resolves disputes between countries that agree to accept its authority. It also delivers non-binding advisory opinions at the request of the UN and other international organizations. The ICJ is not connected with the International Criminal Court in The Hague, the purpose of which is to try war criminals.
It is clear that the Palestinian Authority's purpose in bringing this proposal is to paint Israel as a country that violates international law.
Gillerman, whose full remarks can be read here, continued:
"The security fence is a temporary, proven, necessary and non-violent measure adopted, in accordance with international and local law, to defend the people of Israel from a continuing and vicious campaign of terrorism that has killed hundred of innocent civilians and will kill thousands more, if not prevented. As long as the Palestinian leadership continues to flout its most basic obligations to fight terrorism, there is simply no alternative to it...
"The fence is not a border, and has no political significance. It does not change the legal status of the territory in any way...
"If built along the 1949 Armistice Line (the so-called Green line), which was never intended to, nor ever has, enjoyed legal status as an international boundary, the fence would constitute an arbitrary and artificial line that simply would not adequately fulfill its sole function - the prevention of terrorist attacks against civilians. The route of the fence is determined not by politics, but by a difficult and painful balance between security, humanitarian and topographical considerations.
"Israel is working to ensure that the fence does not cause undue hardship to local Palestinian residents, both through extensive consultations with the local population over the route of the fence, and through an active process of appeals and judicial review. And we will continue to engage in this process and to seek individual solutions to problems that arise..."
Despite the many pictures being shown in the international media of a tall concrete wall, more than 97% of the planned 720-km. (480-mile) security fence will consist of a chain-link fence system. Less than 3% of the partition will be constructed of concrete. The short concrete sections are intended not only to stop terrorists from infiltrating, but also to block them from shooting at Israeli vehicles traveling on main highways alongside the pre-1967 Green Line.
Ambassador Gillerman explained why those who say that the fence harms the peace process and future negotiations are "mistaken and unjustified." He said that if anything, "the fence will help take terrorism out of the equation, restore calm, and encourage an environment in which negotiations and the implementation of the Road Map can take place."
He noted that in the past two months, Israeli security forces have foiled 27 attempts to bring death and destruction to Israel's cities, including 14 attempted suicide attacks. He held up pictures of 9-year-old Tomer Almog, who was murdered in a recent attack, and of his 10-year-old brother Oran who lost most of his vision in the same bombing.
Gillerman had strong criticism of UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, saying his report on the fence lacked fairness and balance, and "incomprehensibly" makes no reference to the PA terrorist war against Israel.
Gillerman decried the UN's "duplicity, hypocrisy and double standard," in not giving importance to Israel's need for self-defense, in not condemning actions such as Syria's murder of 20,000 of its own citizens, and in not passing a resolution to protect Israeli children as it passed one to protect Arab children in the PA.
Gillerman said, "How dare the people who would not even consider protecting Israeli children by words, tell Israel that it cannot protect them by deeds. How low, how deep and how callous can the duplicity, hypocrisy and double standard of this body deteriorate?"