PRESS RELEASE

July 12, 2004

 

The PHRMG Welcomes the Decision of the Top UN Court on the Legality of the Separation Wall

 In July 9, 2004, the International Court of Justice in The Hague ruled that the separation wall contravenes international law, that it must be dismantled, and that compensation must be paid to the Palestinian owners of property confiscated for its construction. 

The PHRMG welcomes this decision made by the International Court. The separation wall complicates the creation of a viable Palestinian State. In addition, the court has ruled that on the basis that the wall, along the route chosen, gravely infringes a number of rights of Palestinians residing in the Occupied Territories.

As the International Court of Justice ruled on Friday, the barrier Israel is building inside the West Bank is illegal and should be removed. The PHRMG calls it a land grab that destroys the Palestinians’ hopes of a viable Palestinian state.

The PHRMG is concerned about the Palestinians’ future with the separation wall. Thus, it  hopes that the decision made by the International Court in the Dutch Capital; The Hague will be presented to the World Body and that hopes that Israel will recognize its ruling and recommendations. The PHRMG also urges that the court should stay in the issue.

The PHRMG also calls upon the international community to immediately act in consistency with the ruling and take concrete steps to “ensure compliance” for international humanitarian law and to force Israel and its occupying forces to comply with it by ending the construction of the wall and tearing down the sections of the wall already constructed inside the West Bank territory, including Jerusalem .