Israel adamant to build barrier

Workers continue to build part of Israel's "security" barrier near the Aida refugee camp on the edge of the biblical West Bank city of Bethlehem yesterday. The Palestinians won strong international support as the UN General Assembly overwhelmingly backed a World Court ruling calling on Israel to tear down part of its West Bank barrier. PHOTO: AFP

"The resolution adopted by the UN is aimed at depriving us of this security shield without offering us an alternative way of protecting ourselves against terrorism," said Dore Gold, a senior advisor to Prime Minister Ariel Sharon.

"We have every right to defend ourselves and are determined to construct this fence," Gold, a former ambassador to the United Nations, told AFP.

The general assembly adopted a non-binding resolution by 150 votes to six late Tuesday with 10 absentions, endorsing backed recent a world court ruling that said the barrier was illegal and that parts already built on Palestinian land should be torn down.

Israel had previously said that it had no intention of respecting the non-binding verdict by the International Court of Justice, arguing that the barrier is vital to defend itself against suicide attacks.

The Palestinians say its route, often jutting deep into the West Bank,

shows its real intent is to preempt the borders of their promised future state.

Palestinians hailed yesterday the UN vote as a watershed diplomatic victory for their cause.

"It confirms the illegal nature of the Israeli occupation and annuls all the measures in the Palestinian occupied territories, including east Jerusalem, negotiations minister Saeb Erakat told AFP.

"The decision is a major victory for Palestinian diplomacy and the Palestinian people as well as Arab diplomacy," he said.

"The General Assembly decision is not only historic but the most important decision for the Palestinian cause since 1947 (when the UN agreed to the creation of the state of Israel)."

The Palestinians are now likely to try and take the issue to the UN Security Council where the United States will almost certainly use its power of veto to kill any binding resolution there.

However Erakat said that the international community must not allow Israel to simply ignore the resolution.

"We ask the international community to make all effortst to force the Israeli government to implement their commitments and stop dealing with Israel as a state above the law."