Illegal Israeli barrier: Your viewsBBC Online The International...

Illegal Israeli barrier: Your views
BBC Online


The International Court of Justice in The Hague has declared that the Israeli barrier in the West Bank violates international law and should be dismantled.
The court has spent five months considering the issue of the barrier at the request of the UN General Assembly.

ASK MIDDLE EAST ANALYST
Professor George Joffe answered your questions in an interactive forum.




Israel insisted the barrier was needed to keep out West Bank militants, but the Palestinians consider it a land grab.

The court's ruling is not binding, but can serve as a basis for UN action.

Do you agree with the ruling? Should the wall be pulled down or is it a necessary security measure? Send us your comments.



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The following comments reflect the balance of opinion we have received so far:

Walls only reinforce division and injustice
Nick Fraser, Jordan

Israel should respect the opinion of the World Court. I lived in Berlin for a time - walls only reinforce division and injustice and don't solve the underlying problems they are mistakenly built to address.
Nick Fraser, Jordan

The answer depends not on Israel, Palestine or the UN. It depends only on what stand the Americans take. If America wants they can solve every problem in Palestine in a few minutes. But their leaders are interested in the votes of the American Jewish community than world peace
George, Leeds, UK

It is time we call it as we see it. The barrier is clearly causing the Palestinians a lot of hardship. It is time we stopped appeasing Israel and put our foot down. Both sides need to head back to serious negotiations and put an end to this problem.
Jay, Chicago, USA

What arrogance on the part of the world community! If the fence is part of a land grab then it is not about Israeli annexation but rather about Palestinian rejection of a two state solution in favour of a misguided belief that all of Israel will be theirs one day.
Michael Mittel, Atlanta

The Israeli government simply hides behind the American veto
Chris Hanley, Hong Kong

The wall is not merely a land grab, it is a water rights grab to be used as a bargaining chip in any future negotiations on a peace settlement. It is also a blight on the landscape likely to last a century. Israel is extremely unlikely to enforce the ruling - Israeli governments have repeatedly chosen to ignore international rulings in the past, the Israeli government simply hides behind the American veto. It is both sad and ironic that a people who sought for centuries to emerge from walled ghettos not of their own choosing should now willingly be creating one.
Chris Hanley, Hong Kong

Paradoxically, it is the effectiveness of the barrier that weakened Israeli arguments in its favour and made the court forget that hundreds of Israeli civilian lives are still more important than any land annexation! UN has proved one more time that it is incapable of unbiased decisions.
Alex, Haifa, Israel

Suicide bombers? Israel has killed 3 times more Palestinians. Will the wall protect them from missiles fired from helicopters in crowded markets?
TP, London, UK

This decision by the International Court of Justice will matter little to Israel. Israel will do what Israel wants regardless of world opinion. It has consistently ignored world opinion and more importantly, United Nations resolutions for decades. What does this ruling mean then - nothing. Israel's actions are simply those of a rogue state in many ways, deeds over the years have shown this to be the case.
Andrew, Australia

When has any wall in recent history prevented anything other than misery for one side or another?
Peter Strudwick, UK

When has any wall in recent history prevented anything other than misery for one side or another? This wall however is divisive both in the physical sense and the moral one as well. It only a minority of people in the region who want it. Then again Israel will do want she wants anyway, regardless of world opinion.
Peter Strudwick, UK

This fence is an absolutely necessary security measure. I understand that since the erection of one quarter of the wall alone, suicide bombings have gone down by 86%. Proof enough that it works.
J D Norman, London, England

Has the court ruled whether suicide bombing is illegal? Or does it not want to consider the root cause of the issue?
John, London, UK

As long as there are guns, suicidal maniacs and dithering politicians, there will be walls. And if that wall is helping keep the peace and save lives so be it.
Ashvin, Galesburg, Illinois

What the UN has always had a problem with is taking a proactive approach to preventing terror and rather making excuses to others why they shouldn't be doing this or that. The real issue lies in the fact the UN has failed to do ANYTHING about stopping the Palestinian terrorism, which only serves to destroy the hopes and dreams of the average Palestinian citizen.
Jason, Toronto Canada

If the wall is for protection it will work just as well inside Israel's own borders
Julie Lowe, Sheffield

When will we hear a Palestinian analyst? Israel never respects International Law and is unlikely to do so now. Whereas everyone wants the Israelis to be safe it cannot be at the expense of Palestinian people. If the wall is for protection it will work just as well inside Israel's own orders.
Julie Lowe, Sheffield

To think this wall is about security is a joke. It is a pure and simple land grab and establishing irreversible facts on the ground. Shame on the US for supporting such an inhumane policy. For without US support Israel can never get away with such an act.
Ahmad, Nice, France

This took five months? Five minutes should have been sufficient.
Chris, Bournemouth, UK

The fact is that the Israeli policy is working. Suicide bombings inside Israel have been reduced dramatically. It is the primary responsibility of any government to look after the security of its people and this is all that Israel is doing.
Daniel, Manchester

The barrier is fine when built on the land of Israel but when it cuts communities and families off from each other it is barbaric and in-humane and we should all condemn this horrendous harassment and persecution of the Palestinian people.
Simon G, Surrey, England

This is just a land grab, pure and simple
Malcolm, England

I can understand the desire of Israel for security, but surely that would be best achieved by giving the occupied land back to the Palestinians and building the wall, if it was still needed, on the real, legal border. As it stands this is just a land grab, pure and simple, and will only lead to yet more violence. This is a matter that concerns the whole world and as such it is time the whole world imposed a settlement, with or without Israel's consent.
Malcolm, England

The Palestinians have suffered too long, The UN has to do something about the terrorism of Israel as it is a scar on democracy. How can we export democracy to the East like this?
Ian, Bristol, UK

If the court rules that the barrier is illegal, Israel would be expected to comply with the decision. What the world court might not have considered is that the decision limits Israel's options to more direct and confrontational actions in regard to terminating terrorist attacks and the threat of terrorist attacks against Israelis. Israel will be forced to intensify its use of the gun rather than the wall to effect its own defence.
John Holmes, Canada

Do we honestly think that Israel cares whether the wall is legal or not? As long as big brother is protecting them, they will do what they wish.
Chris, NY, USA

Who cares if the wall is legal or not? The law only matters to those who have access to it.
Andrew Witham, London UK

The UN should ensure that some positive action is taken

Dougie Lawson, Basingstoke, UK
What is the difference between the Israeli wall and the Berlin wall? No country should need to build a barrier like this. The UN should ensure that some positive action is taken to tear this thing down.
Dougie Lawson, Basingstoke, UK

Without the barrier, the two sides would find something else to fight about. There would actually be more peace if the world would just accept the Israeli/Palestinian conflict as a permanent institution rather than a problem with a possible solution.
Collis, WV, USA

Israel should have the right to do what they feel is necessary to stop the suicide bombings!
Mary, Connecticut, USA

What opponents of the wall forget is that preventing suicide bombers can have an important positive impact on the lives of Palestinians - no terror means no Israeli retaliatory action. The old adage that good fences make good neighbours is conveniently ignored by opponents of Israel. However, I agree that the route of the wall is wrong, but it should be allowed to exist until a peace settlement is achieved. This can only be done in an atmosphere of security and absence of terror.
Darian Brookes, London

The only answer is to achieve a fair and equitable permanent settlement
Phil, Lewes

This barrier may achieve a short-term reduction in the number of killings taking place, but in the long-term more people will suffer because the current political set-up is unsustainable. The only answer is to achieve a fair and equitable permanent settlement that recognises the rights of both Israelis and Palestinians. Sadly, there are extremists in both camps who would rather die than sacrifice their so-called principles, so I can't see it happening.
Phil, Lewes

The barrier may be illegal but it is a fact that since its erection, there's hardly been ANY suicide bombings inside the Israeli territory. Better to be deemed "illegal" and to be actually saving lives. Israelis have been feeling much safe since the barrier so if that is what it takes to save lives then let it "illegal".
Tatiana, London, UK

Even if it was illegal I doubt whether that would be the end of the story. To Israel it's regarded as security, to Palestine, it's a red rag to a bull. The barrier doesn't act to keep Israelis secure, it simply dares Palestinians to defy it. Where's the security in that? It may or may not be legal but it's not helping matters, is it?
Fraser Irving, Sheffield, UK

The wall is needed to prevent suicide bombers from entering Israel. It also will allow the Israeli army to withdraw allowing Palestinians to get on with their lives.
Matthew Freedman, London UK

I have seen this 8 metre high wall where it runs across the Bethany road just outside Jerusalem. It separates Israeli citizens from their work, schools and hospitals. Why can't Israel have a security point to allow people to pass after suitable checks? If you separate people from work, health and schooling, this has got to be against their human rights.
Matthew Clements, Rotherhithe, London, UK

If Israelis feels they need a wall then let them build it on their own soil.
Rachel, Sussex, UK

The barrier as a structure is surely not illegal but I would have thought that its location must be. The law of trespass surely can't be limited to being a UK concept.
Bill Tucker, Portsmouth, England

I think the legality or illegality of the Israeli barrier is unimportant, the real question is does it achieve a worthwhile aim? If it can reduce the level of violence for a sufficiently long time that trust returns enabling peace dialogue then all the good. If the needless attacks continue and the cycle of violence doesn't end it was a waste of time and energy. The Palestinian Israeli conflict has gone on for too long and been too bitter for any law to solve the issues.
Jim, UK