Israel Barrier Must Come Down, UN says

New York, Jul 9 2009 6:10PM On the fifth anniversary of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) finding that Israel’s building of a barrier in the occupied Palestinian territory was illegal, a United Nations independent human rights expert today spoke out against what he says is Israel’s violation of Palestinian rights.

“Tear down that wall, Mr. Netanyahu,” Richard Falk, the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territories occupied since 1967, said at an international conference at The Hague on the ICJ’s 2004 Advisory Opinion.

That opinion called on Israel to halt construction and bring an end to its system of curbing the freedom of movement of Palestinians in the West Bank.

By a majority of 14 to 1, the judges found that the barrier’s construction breaches international law, saying it violated principles outlined in the UN Charter and long-standing global conventions that prohibit the threat or use of force and the acquisition of territory that way, as well as principles upholding the right of peoples to self-determination. More

APARTHEID WALL