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| Middle East |
| U.N. Takes Israel Barrier to Int’l. Court |
| 2003-12-09 |
| UNITED NATIONS (AP) - A divided U.N. General Assembly approved a resolution Monday asking the International Court of Justice to examine Israel’s construction of a barrier that juts into the West Bank. The vote was 90 in favor, 8 opposed with 74 abstentions, reflecting uneasiness in many nations on referring the issue to the world court, based in The Hague, Netherlands. The resolution asks the court to urgently issue an advisory opinion on the legal consequences of the barrier. Judging from the composition of the court, I think I know the answer in advance. Several countries stressed their opposition to the barrier, but said they didn’t want the court brought in and noted that its opinion would not be "Hey David, got a fax for you." "From who, Moshe?" "Another opinion from the ICJ." "Toss it, I’m busy. And get me a coffee while you’re up." The United States and Israel strongly opposed what they called a biased resolution, arguing that it would "politicize" the court and undermine efforts to reach a Mideast peace settlement. Israel insists the barrier, which it began building last year, is needed to prevent suicide attacks and its construction is purely for security. U.S. deputy ambassador James Cunningham called the resolution " Course not, this is the UN! Israel’s U.N. Ambassador Dan Gillerman said "most of the world’s enlightened democracies" were among the large number of countries that didn’t support the resolution, while those who voted "yes" were "mostly tyrannical dictatorships, corrupt and human rights-defying regimes." Trouble is, that’s over half the UN. Arab nations argued that going to the court was the only action available to try to stop contruction of the barrier, which the Palestinians call a land grab by Israel ahead of possible talks about the borders of a Palestinian state. Other option was to settle for peace -- no, right, no other option, got it. "Ninety votes for the And who would know threats better than a Paleo? Al-Kidwa warned that Israel’s continued construction of the barrier will mean the end of the so-called "road map" to peace drafted by the United Nations, the United States, the European Union and Russia. That plan envisions independent states of Palestine and Israel living side by side in peace. Darn. "For us, any negotiations are meaningless without first stopping the wall," he said. "For us, it is either the wall or the road map. ... If Israel continues building the wall, this will be the end of the road map." If you insist. Pass the hot sauce. |
| Posted by:Steve White |
| #4 The Road Map had become a front for the Paleos to hide behind. Isreal isn't falling for it though, and Hamas continues to shrink. This battle will not be decided in this century. Isreal will never know peace until Islam has been eradicated. It's a fact that Islam is against the very existence of the Jews, despite protests to the contrary. I just wish Bush would come out and acknowledge this. |
| Posted by: Charles 2003-12-9 9:17:47 PM |
| #3 "..If Israel continues building the wall, this will be the end of the road map." This makes the mistaken assumption that after continued attacks against Israeli civilians, the "road map" has value. Until the Palestinians decide to break all the terrorist organizations in their midst, it won't. |
| Posted by: Bomb-a-rama 2003-12-9 10:27:11 AM |
| #2 If Israel continues building the wall, this will be the end of the road map. Hey, we called "endsies" first! the roadmap doesn't apply if Yasir is still running things... |
| Posted by: snellenr 2003-12-9 9:16:05 AM |
| #1 "... those who voted "yes" were "mostly tyrannical dictatorships, corrupt and human rights-defying regimes." And we care what they think because...? |
| Posted by: mojo 2003-12-9 2:26:19 AM |