- (AFP) - Israel said it has no intention of halting work
on its West Bank barrier as the world court was set to rule it contravenes
international law and that parts built on Palestinian land should be dismantled.
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- "Israel has no reason to submit to a plainly absurd
decision which pays no account to the role of the security fence in the
fight against terrorism," a senior government official told AFP on
condition of anonymity as leaked copies of the verdict were widely published
on the Internet.
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- The court said in a ruling, that is merely advisory,
that "the construction of the wall being built by Israel, the occupying
power, in the occupied Palestinian territory" was "contrary to
international law", according to the leaks.
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- "It (Israel) is under an obligation to cease forthwith
the works of construction of the wall being built in the Occupied Palestinian
Territory, including in and around East Jerusalem, (and) to dismantle forthwith
the structure therein situated."
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- The International Court of Justice (ICJ), the UN's highest
legal body, also said in the much-anticipated verdict that Israel should
pay compensation to Palestinians whose property had been damaged by the
construction work.
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- "Israel is under an obligation to make reparation
for all damage caused by the construction of the wall in the Occupied Palestinian
Territory, including in and around East Jerusalem," it said.
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- It also called for the UN General Assembly and Security
Council to take action to halt the construction work.
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- "The United Nations, and especially the General
Assembly and the Security Council, should consider what further action
is required to bring to an end the illegal situation resulting from the
construction of the wall."
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- Even before reports of the verdict emerged, the Israeli
government had made clear it had no intention of halting construction work
which is due to be completed by the end of next year and should eventually
stretch for some 700 kilometers (430 miles).
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- While the Palestinians say its route -- which often juts
deep into the West Bank -- shows its real intent is to pre-empt the borders
of their promised future state, the Israelis point to a marked downfall
in suicide attacks as proof of its success so far.
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- Israeli government spokesman Avi Pazner said the ICJ
had "no jurisdiction" to rule over the barrier and said that
it should only come up for debate after Israel's planned pullout of the
Gaza Strip is completed next year.
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- "It will be up to us and the Palestinians, together,
as part of an agreement that I hope will come after the withdrawal from
Gaza to discuss all questions, including this anti-terrorist barrier,"
he told Radio France Internationale.
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- Justice Minister Tommy Lapid told reporters that "the
only decision that matters for the government is the verdict of the supreme
court".
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- Judges at Israel's highest court ruled last month that
part of the barrier -- a montage of electric fencing, barbed wire and concrete
wall -- should be rerouted north of Jerusalem because it infringed the
rights of some 35,000 Palestinian inhabitants.
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- But the supreme court also confirmed in effect the government's
right to build the barrier on security grounds.
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- A senior Palestinian official, who also requested anonymity,
expressed delight at the prospect of the world court's verdict which he
said represented "a great victory for the Palestinians".
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- The ICJ said in a statement that it was aware that "various
documents are being disseminated on the Internet by a number of organizations
regarding the advisory opinion which the court is to render on Friday",
and emphasized that "the only authentic text is the official text
issued by the court".
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- The opinion was scheduled to be read at a public hearing
in The Hague at 3:00 pm (1300 GMT), and was then to be posted on the ICJ's
website.
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- The verdict comes after three days of hearings into the
barrier's legality back in February that were boycotted by the Israelis.
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- On the domestic political front, opposition leader Shimon
Peres said Friday he would insist the pullout from Gaza be coordinated
with the Palestinians as his price for joining a new coalition government.
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- "We are going to demand that the withdrawal be accelerated
and that it must be done in coordination with the Palestinians," Peres
told public radio.
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- His comments come after Prime Minister Ariel Sharon confirmed
in a speech late Thursday that he had "scheduled a meeting with Shimon
Peres for Sunday in order to discuss the possibility of widening the coalition."
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- In the latest violence, a suspected Palestinian militant
was shot dead in the southern West Bank city of Hebron on Friday by Israeli
soldiers who had come to arrest him, military sources said.
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