[Mb-civic] The Wall

[ean at sbcglobal.net]

http://www.cbc.ca/insite/COMMENTARY/2004/7/16.html

16/7/04     CBC Commentary

Introduction:

Israel's so-called separation wall has met a wall of criticism from a
panel of international judges. Michael Lynk teaches law at the University
of Western Ontario. In the past he worked for the United Nations in Israel
and the Occupied Territories, and for a Canadian government-funded
research project in Lebanon. On Commentary he says the legal decision by
the International Court of Justice could have far-reaching implications.

Michael Lynk:

Last week's ruling by the International Court of Justice was a significant
decision that could be a stepping stone towards peace in the Middle East.
The court ruled that Israel's "separation wall" violates international law
and must be immediately dismantled.

While Israel is ignoring the ruling and continuing to build the wall, it
may find its traditional defiance of international bodies increasingly
harder to sustain.

There are three reasons why this ruling is important and why it may lead
towards peace.

First, the International Court of Justice is the United Nations' highest
court. It has a bench of eminent judges skilled in international law drawn
from around the world. It is a rather conservative court, which means that
the near-unanimity of its ruling - 14 of its 15 judges found Israel in
violation - and its detailed and persuasive legal critique of the
separation wall, will carry added weight when the matter returns to the
United Nations.


Second, the ruling by the International Court makes it clear that Israel
has a right to build a wall for its own protection, but not on someone
else's land. Only 10 per cent of the wall is being built on the 1967
border between Israel and the West Bank, the only border the world
recognizes. The other 90 per cent snakes through Palestinian lands,
completely enclosing whole towns and villages. It separates thousands of
Palestinian farmers from their fields, and has substantially increased the
economic hardship in the territory, according to UN reports. If Israel's
wall was built entirely on its 1967 borders, not only would it be legal,
it would have been 40 per cent shorter, costing less than half of its $2
billion price tag.

And third, the ICJ's ruling establishes that international law and a
rights-based approach have a central role to play in the search for peace
in the Middle East. Besides condemning the wall, the International Court
also confirmed that all of Israel's settlements are illegal, that Israel's
annexation of East Jerusalem is unauthorized, and the 4th Geneva
Convention applies to the Occupied Territories.

Earlier decisions by the International Court on the illegal occupations in
both Namibia and East Timor were influential because they hastened those
countries' eventual independence. Using the tools of modern international
law - which emphasizes fairness, equality and the non-violent resolution
of conflicts - can only enhance the chances for a compassionate peace in
the Middle East.

When Israel first started planning the separation wall, its prime minister
cited the famous line by Robert Frost that "Good fences make good
neighbours". But his poem didn't endorse walls; it criticized them.
Indeed, Frost went on to say in his poem:

"Before I build a wall, I'd ask to know What I was walling in or walling
out And to whom I was likely to give offence."

For Commentary, this is Michael Lynk in London.



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