Pathetic reactions by US, Israel

by Ghassan Khatib

The Palestinian people and leadership were quite confused and disappointed by the negative American official response to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) decision, simply because there are only two ways for Palestinians to achieve their objectives. One way is the approach that is promoted by the extremists: fighting by any possible means to defeat the occupation and the Israelis--regardless of any political, legal, or human consideration. The other path is based on pursuing legal methods and using international law.

The Palestinian peace camp bases its demands and political program on the relevant UN Security Council resolutions and international law. Members of this camp have always tried to convince their fellow Palestinians that law is the language that the civilized world, especially the West, understands. We have argued that if we Palestinians want to attract the support of the international community, especially Europe and the United States, we have to pursue legal methods and procedures and to base our objectives on the parameters of international law and the relevant Security Council resolutions. Taking the issue of the wall to the ICJ in The Hague is an illustration of the approach the Palestinian peace camp promotes. Unfortunately, the dismissive and negative reception in Washington to this opinion has a very destructive effect on the ongoing debate between these two tendencies within the Palestinian society.

In any case, the Palestinian people were encouraged by The Hague's decision and are determined to try to benefit from it on all possible levels. The way we read this legal finding goes beyond the issue of the wall. The decision, which came from the highest legal body in the world, has ended the debate over whether these territories--i.e., the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and the Gaza Strip--are disputed or occupied. In addition, this resolution ended any possibility of Israel claiming East Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. It consolidated the Palestinian political and negotiating position that East Jerusalem and the rest of the occupied Palestinian territories, including settlements, are under illegal belligerent military occupation. The decision also reinforced the applicability of the Fourth Geneva Convention to the occupied territories.

The pathetic way in which Israeli officials reacted to this decision tried to link the idea of building the wall with the insecure situation inside Israel. They were helped in these arguments by the unfortunate explosion in Tel Aviv. However, these protestations neglected the fact that neither the Palestinians nor the ICJ has a problem with Israel building a security wall on Israeli territory or the border, rather than inside the occupied Palestinian territories.

-Published 12/7/2004