A new legal reality for the fence

[Classical_Liberal]

A new legal reality for the fence

With regrettable tardiness, the government has begun to understand and digest the political and legal ramifications of the ruling by the International Court of Justice against the separation fence. The Hague's justices rule that Israel's activities in the territories are a violation of international law and called for an end to the construction of the fence beyond the Green Line, demolition of those parts of the fence already built and compensation for those Palestinian residents whose interests were harmed by the fence. The United Nations General Assembly adopted the court's conclusions, and soon there will be further debates and deliberations at the UN, where Israel will face the threat of sanctions.

The senior-most legal authorities in Israel who studied the ICJ ruling, say the government must treat the court ruling seriously and behave appropriately. Attorney General Menachem Mazuz wrote in an opinion delivered to the prime minister: "It is difficult to exaggerate the negative ramifications of the ICJ's decision." His words were backed up by a report by senior jurists who warned that The Hague decision "creates a new legal reality, which could be a catalyst for accelerating actions against Israel in international forums, up to and including sanctions." Supreme Court President Justice Aharon Barak joined that approach, ordering the government to explain why it should not avoid building the fence beyond the Green Line and saying "at a certain stage we will have to deal with the decision by the court in The Hague." The Foreign Ministry has also announced the route of the fence will be reexamined to make sure it meets the demands of international law and Israel's High Court of Justice decisions.

This is a striking change to the callous approach originally evinced by Israel in its initial response to The Hague's decision. At first, the government tried to ignore the position of the international community and of the Israeli legal system, which called for Israel to respond to the developments in international law. Mazuz has now called on Ariel Sharon to quickly finish the correction of the fence route and to anchor it in a new government decision that would refer to international law. Sharon is the main culprit responsible for the chain of failures in the matter of the fence. He is the one who delayed its construction during the wave of suicide bombings, and he is the one who set the invasive route that harmed Palestinian lives and was perceived by the world as forcibly annexationist. Sharon and the defense establishment tried to move the route east of the Green Line, to protect as many settlements as possible - ignoring the political ramifications of the fence and the failed information campaign around the world, enabling the Palestinians to portray Israel as the accused in the General Assembly and the International Court of Justice. The ICJ ruling not only rejects the route of the fence, but also Israel's very occupation of the territories and the construction of the settlements.........

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/467535.html

[bemildred]

1. Sharon is a failure and a moron.

Just compare things five years ago and now.
Anybody that doesn't see that, doesn't want to see that.
:puke: