U.N. vote on barrier is an embarrassment
Our Opinion: Israel Will Protect Itself by Heeding its Own Supreme Court

July 22, 2004
Miami Herald
http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/news/opinion/9211361.htm?1c http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/news/opinion/9211361.htm?1c 
The United Nations has once again managed to discredit itself by adopting a craven General Assembly resolution demanding that Israel obey a World Court ruling that calls for the dismantling of its separation barrier on the West Bank. This is one more in a long list of votes in which U.N. members have taken an anti-Israeli position because it suits their political inclinations rather than because it makes a contribution to peace in the Middle East. The only effect of this mischievous vote will be to distract attention from the real issue -- the terrorist threat that the barrier is designed to thwart.
Chaos in Gaza
The resolution contains the usual diplomatic circumlocutions calling on the Palestinian Authority to ''arrest, disrupt and restrain individuals and groups conducting and planning violent attacks,'' but this is nothing short of ridiculous under the circumstances. Don't U.N. members keep up with the news? The chaos in Gaza, prompted by Yasser Arafat's attempts to fire a police chief and replace him with a relative, should make it clear that the PA doesn't have much control of anything. Nor has the PA ever shown any evidence of wanting to restrain terrorists, except for the empty rhetoric of Mr. Arafat and his cohorts.
For the United Nations to sign onto a declaration calling on Israel to do away with one of the few effective measures against terrorism should shame the organization. The World Court ruling will have little effect because there is no practical means of enforcement. The apparent point of the exercise is not to change anything, but simply to embarrass Israel. It would have been more appropriate -- and more effective -- to echo support for the Israeli High Court ruling that a portion of the West Bank security barrier's route must be changed, because this is the decision that really matters.
As proof, the Israeli government announced that it will reposition the entire barrier ''as soon as possible'' to the historical border known as the Green Line.
Right of self-defense
The Israeli court's ruling properly focused on the barrier's location. The current route makes deep incisions into the West Bank, cutting straight through Palestinian farmland and towns, so that even highly isolated Jewish settlements are on its western side. Thus, the court ruled that a 30-kilometer segment northwest of Jerusalem was illegal -- the harm it caused to Palestinians outweighed any security gains to Israel. The government already has released plans for dismantling the segment and resurrecting it in accordance with the ruling. It will soon release a revised plan for the entire barrier.
Israel, has a moral and a legal right to self-defense. The Israeli court's finding suggests, however, that national security shouldn't be used as a blanket justification for questionable maneuvers. The government's decision to accept the ruling is commendable. The PA should take a lesson from this example of practical democracy, instead of seeking relief in pointless U.N. resolutions.




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