Barrier Ruling Encourages Terror :: Namibia Internet Gateway cc ::

Articles: Barrier Ruling Encourages Terror

Posted by admin on Monday, July 12, 2004 - 12:10 AM

Prime Minister Ariel Sharon linked the world court's condemnation of Israel's West Bank separation barrier to a deadly bombing in Tel Aviv and ordered construction of the contentious complex of walls, trenches and fences to continue.
Palestinian militants blew up a bus stop with a nail-studded bomb hidden in roadside shrubs on Sunday, killing a female soldier and seriously wounding five people in the fist deadly bombing in Israel since March. Violence continued Monday in the southern Gaza Strip, when a military force destroyed several structures on the outskirts of the town of Khan Younis. A 72-year old man died in the operation and family members said he had not heard army calls to evacuate his home and had been killed under the rubble. The army said they destroyed a number of uninhabited tin shacks that had been used by militants as cover to fire on Israeli targets. Sharon tied it to the world court's nonbinding ruling on Friday against the barrier, which Israel says is needed to stop such attacks. "The decision sends a destructive message to encourage terrorism and denounces countries that are defending themselves against it," Sharon said. Palestinians, welcoming the decision, planned a diplomatic assault to enforce it. However, they put off an appeal to the U.N. Security Council until after the November presidential elections in the United States, fearing a U.S. veto. "The decision now is for the General Assembly to decide what the coming step is," said Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qureia. "As for us, we will continue to battle." The Palestinians enjoy broad support in the much larger General Assembly, but its decisions aren't binding. Early Sunday, five-pound bomb filled with sharp pieces of metal exploded as a bus pulled up at a stop near Tel Aviv's central bus station. A 19-year-old female soldier was killed, and 32 people were hurt, five of them seriously. The remainder were treated for shock or light wounds. The Al Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades, a violent Palestinian group linked to Yasser Arafat's Fatah faction, claimed responsibility, saying it was avenging the deaths of members killed by Israel. "This says that we can reach every place, even when there is a fence," said an Al Aqsa spokesman in the West Bank city of Nablus, refusing to give his name. Palestinian officials condemned the attack. "We are against all bombings like this," Arafat said. Israel began building the barrier two years ago, saying it is needed to keep out Palestinian attackers who have killed nearly 1,000 Israelis in four years of fighting. More than 3,000 Palestinians were killed in the same period, most by army fire. Israel has completed one-quarter of the planned 425-mile project, and cited the barrier as a key reason for the recent lull in Palestinian attacks. But the barrier stretches deep into the West Bank and has disrupted the lives of thousands of Palestinians. The Palestinians turned to the world court, arguing that the barrier amounts to an illegal land grab. The Palestinians want an independent state in all of the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Sharon met Sunday with senior Cabinet ministers, security officials and the attorney general to discuss the fallout from the world court decision. Sharon ordered construction to continue, in line with a recent Israeli Supreme Court decision, his office said. The Israeli court last month ordered Israel to change the route of the barrier near Jerusalem, saying it was causing too much hardship on the Palestinians. But it upheld Israel's claim that the barrier is a security measure, not an attempt to redraw its borders, and allowed construction to continue. Based on the decision, Israel has already begun plans to change other parts of the route. On Sunday, the Supreme Court extended a freeze on another stretch of barrier near the Israeli town of Rosh Haayin. The Association of Civil Rights in Israel, which filed the challenge, said the freeze would remain in effect for several weeks until a final decision on rerouting the barrier is made. Israel does not recognize the world court's jurisdiction in the case. Sharon told Sunday's meeting that Israel would fight the decision "with all diplomatic and legal means." Israeli officials said they asked the United States and other nations to fend off Palestinian efforts at the United Nations. Washington often has used its veto in the Security Council to block resolutions critical of Israel. U.S. officials have said they disagree with the world court on the issue, and they believe no further U.N. action is necessary.

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