Palestinians Welcome ICJ’S Ruling, Seek UN Action

"I never expected such a strong ruling. We got used to weak and meaningless resolutions on the Palestinian cause," Allam Al-Saleh, a taxi driver, told IslamOnline.net.

The ICJ, the UN’s highest legal body, ruled on Friday, July 9, that the 700-kilometer (435-mile) separation wall constructed by Israel across the occupied West Bank violates international law .

The verdict stipulated that those sections of the barrier constructed on occupied Palestinian territories should be torn down and Israel should compensate Palestinians for the damages caused.

"The ICJ’s ruling was strong and fair but Israel was quick to insist it would continue building the wall in complete disregard for the verdict," Al-Saleh said.

"Any resolution issued by the UN Security Council or other international institutions is always implemented, even if military force is necessary to do so as was the case in Iraq.

"However, when it comes to Israel the situation is completely different," he regretted.

He exhorted the international community to force Israel to abide by international resolutions, especially the ICJ’s ruling on the separation wall.

Khetam El-Sayed, a Palestinian teacher, was jubilant about the world court’s decision which proves "the legitimacy of our cause and struggle."

Like many Palestinians, she has serious doubted that Israel, which thinks it is above the law, would abide by the ICJ’s ruling.

"Even if the case reaches the UN Security Council it would crash on the rock of the usual American veto," she said, recalling countless American vetoes that killed international measures against Israel.

Ink On Paper

As far as the Palestinians whose lands have been usurped and confiscated for the wall are concerned, the situation is quite different.

"I will not believe the ICJ’s ruling unless I get my land back and be able to cultivate it once again," Umm Rabiha, who lost at least 20.000 donums [donum is a metric unit equal to 1000 square meters] to the wall, said.

She feared the court ruling would remain ink on paper like previous international resolutions.

The daughter of Umm Rabiha, 63, said her mother health condition has deteriorated ever since Israeli soldiers fenced the farm and prevented her from approaching it.

Good Step

For its part, the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas welcomed the ICJ’s verdict as a good step in the right direction of lifting the injustice imposed on the Palestinian people and tearing down the separation wall.

In a statement, the group said the court ruling is "a new evidence that the Zionist entity defies all international norms and laws."

Hamas underlined the necessity of pursuing all possible means to dismantle the wall which represents a nightmare for the Palestinian people.

Historic

In a similar statement, the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP) praised the "historic" verdict of the ICJ as a victory for international law.

The group called on the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and Arab countries to refer the ruling to the UN to take the necessary measures to enforce it.

It asserted that if Israel refuses to comply the UN should impose international sanctions on Tel Aviv as it did in the past with the racist regime in South Africa.

For its part, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) said the country ruling restored some of the UN’s lost credibility.

In a statement, the group urged the PLO to capitalize on the verdict and take the Palestinian cause back to the UN instead of depending on the United States.

The PFLP noted, in this respect, that the ICJ’s verdict requires the UN and its affiliated bodies, particularly the Security Council, to take all necessary measures to force Israel to respect the international law and recognize the Palestinians’ right to have their own independent state.