U.N. Allows Palestinians to Claim 'Fence Damages' 

By Julie Stahl 
January 12, 2005
Newsmax
http://www.newsmax.com/archives/articles/2005/1/12/92559.shtml http://www.newsmax.com/archives/articles/2005/1/12/92559.shtml 
 
Jerusalem -- U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan on Tuesday began the process of setting up a registry for Palestinians who want to claim damages stemming from the construction of Israel's security barrier in the West Bank. But the move has prompted criticism in both Israel and the United States.

The establishment of a registry is part of the unfair way that the United Nations has treated the issue, an Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman said on Wednesday. And a U.S. lawmaker says this is not the time for Annan to be stirring up hard feelings. In July, the United Nations General Assembly passed a resolution demanding that Israel tear down the barrier and compensate Palestinians who say they were harmed by it. 
That resolution called on U.N. member states to comply with an opinion issued by the International Court of Justice, which declared the fence illegal on July 9. 
The International Court of Justice ordered that the fence be torn down and said that Israel should pay reparations to Palestinians who had been harmed by its construction. 
Annan outlined a framework for registering damage claims in a letter sent to the General Assembly president on Tuesday. Press reports said Annan wants the registry to be close to the people who will be submitting damage claims; and he reportedly wants the registry office to be funded by contributions from all 1919 U.N. member states. 
Unfortunately the UN has dealt with the issue of the fence in an unfair manner and we haven't seen any signs of change, Foreign Ministry spokesman Mark Regev said. 
Israel says its security barrier -- a costly and complex system of electronic fences, barbed wire coils, buffer zones and concrete slabs -- is responsible for a dramatic drop in terror attacks. 
But because of the barrier's route, Palestinians accuse Israel of trying to swipe land that they want to include in a future state. 
According to Sarit Michaeli, spokesperson for B'Tselem, an Israeli human rights group that monitors abuses of Palestinians, there are several areas in which Palestinians could claim compensation. 
In the northern West Bank where the barrier has been completed, the primary damage claim probably will be for the actual land that was taken to build the fence, damage to agricultural growth and hardships caused by the Palestinians' inability to properly work their land, Michaeli said in a telephone interview. 
In East Jerusalem the main damage is the severe economic effects on neighborhoods, Michaeli said. 
Israeli officials have said that the barrier is only temporary and that the land on which the barrier sits has been leased from its owners. Israel has installed a system of guarded agricultural gates to allow farmers to pass from one side to the other. 
But Palestinians complain that they can only cross the gates at specified times. 
Rep. Eric Cantor (R-Va.), the chief deputy majority whip in the U.S. House of Representatives, says he's concerned that Kofi Annan would take steps to establish a registry for damage claims at a time when the region's future is at a crossroads. 
The Palestinians have just elected a new leader and there are public gestures being made to restart negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians, Cantor said in a press release. Mr. Annan's actions will unnecessarily hinder progress and stability in the region. 
Israel has the right to make its own national security decisions, which includes building the security fence, Cantor added. Neither Israel nor the Palestinians need the U.N. injecting itself in this process by staking out an unworkable position on such a sensitive issue. 
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