Palestinians ask UNGA to press Israel on barrier

Debating a draft UN General Assembly resolution demanding that it heed the court decision, Palestinian representative Nasser al-Kidwa said Israel would become an "outlaw state" if it does not do so.

But Israeli ambassador Dan Gillerman lambasted his remarks, saying that nations in the Middle East other than Israel had no grounds for criticising its adherence to the law.

For them to "lecture anyone about the rule of law or accuse others of being outlaws, we have indeed reached a point where the inmates are running the asylum," Gillerman said.

Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has already said he would ignore the non-binding ruling of the International Court of Justice in The Hague, the UN's highest tribunal.

The court said Israel must dismantle the parts of the controversial barrier that are built on Palestinian territory and pay the Palestinians reparations for damages.

The General Assembly, which groups all 191 UN member states, is expected to pass the resolution, but Arab nations have been lobbying for days to get the European Union to add its support to the measure.

The assembly will vote on the resolution on Monday.

General Assembly resolutions are not legally binding and Kidwa vowed to push for a binding resolution at the UN Security Council, even though such a move would all but certainly draw a veto from the United States.

"The threat of veto will not thwart us, and all others who respect and uphold international law," Kidwa said.

He again denied that the Palestinians would wait to make a move to the Security Council until after the US presidential election in November, in hopes that a more Palestinian-friendly administration would be elected.

"We shall not exempt the Security Council of its responsibilities, irrespective of the threat of the use of veto," Kidwa said.

Meanwhile, the United States said Friday current UN debate on a draft resolution demanding Israel comply with a world court ruling and tear down part of its West Bank barrier was distracting efforts to achieve Middle East peace.

"Everybody should be looking at how their energy, their efforts and their voices can be added to the process of moving forward on the roadmap," State Department spokesman Richard Boucher told reporters.