- THE HAGUE -- Israel was accused
yesterday of erecting its controversial security barrier as part of an
illegal bid to grab Palestinian land, as a landmark legal case began amid
protests in The Hague.
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- The blackened shell of a bus, destroyed by a suicide
bomber last month, was flown in by supporters of the Israeli government,
while pro-Palestinian protesters included Gretta Duisenberg, the wife of
the former president of the European Central Bank, and a group of anti-Zionist
rabbis.
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- The opening of the case marks the first attempt to get
a legal condemnation of the contentious West Bank barrier which Israel
says is needed to prevent suicide bombers killing its civilians. Palestinian
representatives said the 450-mile structure was part of an orchestrated
Israeli "colonisation".
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- The most high-profile case to be heard by the court in
recent years brought logistical problems for the Dutch authorities as campaigners
converged on the Dutch capital under the watchful gaze of riot police.
Both pro-Palestinian and pro-Israeli groups braved freezing temperatures
to demonstrate at different times of the day to avoid any possibility of
a clash.
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- At the start of the hearing, the Palestinian permanent
representative to the UN, Nasser al-Kidwa, said the barrier, which is part
fence and part wall, was constructed for political - rather than security
-reasons.
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- "It is about entrenching the occupation and the
de facto annexation of large areas of Palestinian land," he said.
"If Israel wanted a wall for security it would have constructed it
on its territory and raised it to 80m not eight metres".
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- Israel has refused to accept the jurisdiction of the
court but made a written submission: "civilians are literally being
slaughtered - on buses as they go about their daily lives, in their homes,
in restaurants and elsewhere - by those who operate from under the protective
umbrella of 'Palestine'".
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- Israel says terrorist attacks have killed 916 people
and injured more than 5,000 in the past 40 months. The Palestinians say
that over the same period 2,770 people have been killed by Israeli forces.
The US, the UK and the EU say a legal judgment will not help the search
for peace, though the UK and EU have said the barrier is illegal.
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- The UN General Assembly has asked for a ruling and, while
the court can only make a non-binding recommendation, its findings will
have an important symbolic effect.
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- * Israeli troops fired teargas at stone-throwing Palestinians
in protests along Israel's West Bank barrier yesterday. It was the biggest
demonstrations against Israel's tightening grip on the West Bank for months.
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- © 2004 Independent Digital (UK) Ltd
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- http://news.independent.co.uk/world/politics/story.jsp?story=494538
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