UN votes 90-8 to ask Hague court for opinion on fence

Ha'aretz ^ | Mon., December 08, 2003 Kislev 13, 5764 | Shlomo Shamir and Aluf Benn, Haaretz Correspondents, Haaretz Service and Agencies

[Pan_Yans Wife]

One world body has to consult with another, before issuing their opinion?

Oh, I see, this is how Breyer, O'Connor, and Bader-Ginsburg see things, too.

[Semper Paratus]

Gee I wonder how they will rule? /scarcasm.

[Phil V.]

UN votes 90:8 to send fence to Hague

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JPost.com Staff

Dec. 8, 2003

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The United Nations General Assembly voted Monday to request that the International Court of Justice deliberate on whether Israel is legally obligated to halt construction of the security fence.

Ninety voted for the motion, eight against, including the United States, Israel, Micronesia, the Marshall Islands, Uganda and the Pacific islands Naui and Palau. Seventy-four abstained, including the members of the European Union.

EU Ambassador to Israel Giancarlo Chevallard defended the abstentions, saying that European states could not vote against the proposal in order to maintain open channels with those states that support the idea, and that the European vote would regardless be unlikely to affect the inevitable outcome.

Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said that Israel will, should the need arise, present its case before the IJC and argue that the fence is a legal barrier designed to protect lives.

This is "the fence that Arafat built," UN ambassador Dan Gillerman said Monday. "Arafat built the fence, and his terror initiated it and made the fence inevitable. If there were no Arafat, there would be no need for a fence," he said.

He also attacked the world body itself, saying, "We don't think that it is up to the United Nations or any other international body to determine the legal aspect of this measure," adding that none of Israel's neighbors "have an independent legal system comparable to ours."

The IJC's opinion would not be binding, said Ruth Lapidoth, a professor of international law at Hebrew University. "It is an advisory opinion," she said. "It is only a question of public relations." Such cases usually take between 4 and 15 months, she said.

The Palestinian UN observer, Nasser Al-Kidwa, started pushing for the resolution after Secretary-General Kofi Annan issued a November 28 report declaring that Israel had failed to comply with a General Assembly demand to halt construction of the fence, which juts into the West Bank.

Earlier Monday, Shinui called for a vote to change the security fence's route. If the fence were closer to the Green Line, the party argued, it would be "more of a security fence and less of a political fence."

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[joesnuffy]

Why not just let the Muslim middle east world vote on whether or not Israel has the right to defend herself against internal terrorists...

Wait till the UN decides that America must "give back" the southwest territories it stole from Mexico....and Russia....and France...and the Indians....and gives reparations to former so called slave descendants...etc etc etc...

Of course the UN can also then prosecute any former GIs for War crimes in Vietnam and Korea..
it feels obliged to as well....

[Diddle E. Squat]

I say go with concrete, stone, or brick instead of wood. Longer lasting and less maintenance. Also my opinion is that topping it with a nice row of barbed wire, while not aesthetically exciting, is most effective and preferable.

Maybe the Hague can recommend what color to paint the wall...

[No Blue States]

This paragraph summed it up nicely:

"This is the fence that Arafat built," said Gillerman. "His terrorism initiated it and made its construction inevitable. If there were no Arafat, there would be no need for a fence."

[Teacher317]

74 of 172 abstain? That's interesting.

[chiefqc]

What's the court and the UN going to do if they tell them to stuff it, start not liking Israel?

[Right Wing Professor]

Predicted court opinion: the fence is a bad thing, because it prevents Palestinians from exercising their legal right to kill Jews.

[Right Wing Professor]

Oh, in case anyone takes that wrong, let me label it 'bitter sarcasm'.

[aynrandfreak]

Israel should use this latest outrage as justification to withdraw from the UN. There's no way it could make things any worse for Israel, and any future anti-Israeli resolutions will look like sour grapes on the UN's part.

[stylin_geek]

You forgot the quad fifties mounted every 100 ft for that "retro" look...

[xzins]

Perhaps they can also inquire about "no man's land" in Korea, or the ex-Berlin Wall, or the fences between the US and Mexico.....

Those will truly be timely decisions

[GalaxieFiveHundred]

The UN should use a ranking system similar to the BCS method used for college football. As such, the USA should have exponentially higher weight placed on its vote and therefore trump the majority of votes from the 90 idiot countries that opted for the resolution. Size does matter.

[NYC GOP Chick]

Predicted court opinion: the fence is a bad thing, because it prevents Palestinians from exercising their legal right to kill Jews.

Gee, I guess I must have missed the vote that the UN took re: condemning pali violence...

[Kay Soze]

"Opinion won't be legally binding"

Nor will it be enforceable.

We already know the world's opinion espcially Europes opinion on Jews.

[yonif]

Will no one allow Israel to defend itself?

Israeli UN ambassador Dan Gillerman, speaking to the UN on Mon. ahead of a vote asking the int'l court to rule on the West Bank fence. (S. Azran)

[Mo1]

The United Nations General Assembly approved on Monday a Palestinian-initiated resolution asking the International Court of Justice to issue an advisory opinion on the legal consequences of Israel's construction of the separation fence. Ninety nations voted in favor of the draft, eight opposed and 74 countries abstained.

WTH??

Will some one .. any one tell WHY the UN is still around??

[Southack]

So when will the UN ask the Hague Court to rule on using suicide bombers against civilian targets such as school buses, restraunts, and hospitals?