Ramallah, 09-07-06: The two-year anniversary of the International Court of Justice’s (ICJ) ruling against Israel’s Apartheid Wall was lost amidst the continued carnage resulting from Israel’s ongoing invasion of the Gaza Strip, which entered its 11th day today and in which at least 60 people have been killed and a further 138 wounded.
The crisis has overshadowed the anniversary of The Hague ruling on the illegality of Israel’s so-called ‘Separation Barrier.’ Two years ago today, on 9 July 2004, the ICJ found by a ruling of 14 votes to 1 that “construction of the wall by Israel in the occupied Palestinian territories, including East Jerusalem, is contrary to international law,” and that Israel is under obligation to “cease the wall’s construction, dismantle the existing structure and make reparations for any damage caused by the construction.”
In a ruling of 13 votes to 2, the ICJ also found that “all states are under an obligation not to recognize the illegal situation resulting from the construction of the wall and not to render aid or assistance in maintaining the situation created by such construction.”
Despite this, construction of the Wall has continued unabated. Israeli Prime Minister, Ehud Olmert, recently announced his ‘Convergence Plan’ which aims to set the final borders of the Israeli state by 2008 based on the route of the Wall. Once finished, the Wall will stretch 852 km, de facto annexing up to 48 percent of the lands of the West Bank to Israel, including East Jerusalem and the Jordan Valley, together with major, illegally built colonial blocs. This will effectively sever the West Bank into a series of disjointed cantons, undermining the creation of any future viable, contiguous Palestinian state.
Israel’s construction of the Apartheid Wall in the West Bank constitutes a grave violation of human rights and international law, is prohibited under the laws governing actions of occupying powers, and further violates a basic principle of the laws of occupation that legal rights to land cannot be acquired by way of military occupation.
Speaking at a conference held by War on Want in London today to mark the two-year anniversary of the ICJ ruling, Palestinian National Initiative General Secretary, Dr. Mustafa Barghouthi MP, stated that the Wall is part of a wider Israeli plan to preclude the creation of an independent Palestinian state and to consolidate a system of Apartheid in Palestine.
* Palestinians will mark the second anniversary of the ICJ ruling by holding a sit-in outside UN offices in Ramallah at 12:00 on Monday 10 July, to protest Israel’s non-compliance with international law, and to appeal for urgent intervention by UN Secretary General Kofi Annan to end the bombardment of Gaza. Please call 0546-215128 for further details.