Despite US and Israeli objections, the Palestinians are confident the General Assembly will approve a resolution tomorrow taking the issue of Israel's construction of a separation barrier to the International Court of Justice.
The Palestinian UN observer, Nasser Al-Kidwa, started pushing for the resolution after Secretary-General Kofi Annan issued a Nov. 28 report declaring that Israel has failed to comply with a General Assembly demand to halt construction of the barrier which juts into the West Bank.
"If the international community is not able to impose the cessation of the construction of the wall, then at least we have to make sure that the illegality of that construction is clear, and that it will stand for a long time to come -- and we think that the court will do precisely that," Al-Kidwa told reporters on Friday.
The US and Israel strongly oppose the attempt to take the issue to the world court, arguing that it would "politicize" the court and undermine efforts to reach a Mideast peace settlement.
"We're in a situation where we hope that we can see some progress in the Middle East peace process," said Israel's deputy UN ambassador Arye Mekel. "The Palestinians finally have a new prime minister whom we are trying to work with, but adding the International Court of Justice to the equation can only make things worse."
Palestinians say the structure is a land grab by Israel ahead of possible talks about the borders of a Palestinian state.Israel insists the barrier, which it began building last year, is needed to prevent suicide attacks and its construction is purely for security.
The Palestinians initially tried to get the Security Council to demand that the barrier be torn down, but the United States vetoed the resolution. Palestinian supporters then called an emergency session of the General Assembly -- where there are no vetoes -- and won overwhelming approval in October for the wall to be taken down.
The resolution raised the possibility of further action if Israel didn't comply with the demand to dismantle the barrier -- 150km network of fences, walls, razor wire and trenches.
Al-Kidwa said the only further action available to the Palestinians was to go to the International Court of Justice in The Hague, Netherlands, and that's what Monday's vote will seek.
The draft resolution, co-sponsored by over 25 countries, expresses grave concern at the continued construction of the barrier. It says the barrier violates the 1949 UN-brokered armistice line, has destroyed Palestinian land and resources, and has disrupted the lives of thousands of civilians.
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