Luisa Morgantini,
Vice-President of the European Parliament
FIVE YEARS AGO THE ICJ CONDEMNED THE ISRAELI APARTHEID WALL AS ILLEGAL.
Today it continues to be built and has become a symbol of Israel's disrespect for international law and of the international community's failure
Rome, 13th July 2009
Last week, on 9th July, marked the fifth anniversary of the International Court of Justice's (ICJ) advisory opinion which condemned the Israeli Apartheid wall in the West Bank as illegal.
The ICJ, in fact, stated that the Israeli construction of the Wall within the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT), including in and around East Jerusalem, violated Israel’s obligations under international law and that Israel is under an obligation to cease the works of construction of the Wall and bring down the parts already built, terminating also the entire system of rigid restrictions on the freedom of movement of Palestinians in the West Bank since they represent a violation of human rights.
However, this didn’t happen. On the contrary Israel continues to disregard and disrespect international legality. The wall is still there and it remains under construction: since the ICJ Advisory Opinion about 200 km have been constructed, bringing the total amount constructed to 413 km– representing the 60% of the planned 709 km long route that runs deeply inside the West Bank (and not along the Green Line) in order to encompass the Israeli settlements in the OPT.
The wall has become a symbol of the Israeli arrogance and arbitrariness, steeling lands and resources to Palestinians, creating ghettos and oppressive enclaves with 312,810 Palestinians, displacing thousands of people and some other 90,000 Palestinians directly threatened by displacement due to the Wall.
In addition to over 600 checkpoints strangulate the freedom of movement for Palestinians together with a hugely diffused system of bypass roads reserved only to the Israeli settlers.
That’s the Israeli democracy and respect of human dignity? That’s its willingness to operate for peace, depriving the Palestinian people of basic rights?
But all this was possible also thanks to the connivance and the powerlessness of the International Community that was not able nor strong enough to impose to Israel, through all kind of pressures, the respect of legality and to fulfil its obligation under International law.
And the justification can’t be the need of security of Israel against attacks by extremists groups of Palestinians, that of course have to be stopped, but happily for long time there aren’t suicide and murdering attacks by the Palestinian side, and on the contrary the Israeli military occupation, expropriation and homes demolitions continue.
The International Community must give more force to all those Palestinians, supported by Israeli activists (who represent the honour of Israel) and Internationals in the defence of their rights, together resisting in a non violent way through weekly grassroots protests in villages like Bil'in, Ni'lin, and Ma'asara whose lands continue to be robbed by the wall.
They need all the support by International Community and Institutions. They and the respect of legality, both, deserve our voices and facts demanding -as recently requested also by the OHCHR (Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights – oPt)- to the Israeli Government to comply with the ICJ and dismantle the Wall within the OPT, making reparation for all damage suffered by people affected by the wall, and to end military occupation, including all restriction of movement in the West Bank as well as the Siege of Gaza, collectively punishing over 1 million and a half of residents, in order to ensure to all Palestinians their legitimate rights, the right to freedom of movement, the right to work, right to education, and right to the highest attainable standard of health.