Press Release
***For Immediate Release***
9 July 2004

AMBASSADOR DAN GILLERMAN: DARK DAY FOR
INTERNATIONAL COURT OF JUSTICE

"This is a dark day for the International Court of Justice and the
international legal system," Ambassador Dan Gillerman, Permanent
Representative of Israel to the United Nations, said today, 9 July 2004, in
response to an advisory opinion on the question of Israel's security fence.
When the question was initially posed to the court, a result of maneuvers by
politically motivated forces, Israel and over 30 leading democracies did not
believe that it had the authority to deal with political disputes between
Israel and the Palestinians.

It is shocking and appalling that in all 60 plus pages of the opinion the
Court fails to address the essence of the problem and the very reason for
building the fence - the indiscriminate, murderous campaign of terror that
Israelis are facing. Palestinian terrorism has taken the lives of nearly
1,000 Israelis in over 20,000 attacks over the last three and a half years.
No other country would act differently in the face of such an evil campaign.
According to Ambassador Gillerman, "This fence is the "Arafat Fence" - the
fence that Arafat built. The fence will remain as long as Arafat's terror
remains." As long as the terrorism continues, Israel will have no choice but
to defend its citizens. This is our moral and legal obligation.

Since the fence has been in operation, the number of casualties has
decreased dramatically. The fence is reversible, whereas the lives taken by
terrorism are not. Moreover, the fence works. It is a temporary, nonviolent
security measure and it saves lives. The real barrier between Israelis and
Palestinians is not the fence, but the terrorism that made necessary. There
can be little credibility to a process that speaks only of Palestinian
rights and Israeli responsibilities, as if there were no Israeli rights and
no Palestinian responsibilities.

Israel respects the rights of its neighbors, but Israelis and Jews also have
rights, primary among them the right to live. Here this right has been
totally ignored. This opinion places the victims of terror on trial, instead
of the terrorists. Furthermore, in addition to its multitude of other flaws,
the opinion consistently claims to be the logical conclusion of law from the
facts at hand, but is in reality deduced from the wrong facts.

Israel continues to seek the necessary balance between protecting the lives
of its citizens and the humanitarian needs of the Palestinian population, in
accordance with the rulings of our Supreme Court, which alone has the
capacity to fully address all aspects of this matter.

While Israel has begun the bold and courageous initiative of disengagement
from the Gaza Strip and northern West Bank, this opinion casts doubt on the
international community's ability to be helpful in this process. Any
interference is likely to derail us from the road to peace. Nations that
really care about peace in our region should not lend credence to this
opinion and be diverted from the window of opportunity presented by the
disengagement plan.

The only way to resolve the differences between Israel and the Palestinians,
including the dispute over the fence, is through direct negotiations, as
stipulated by UN Security Council resolutions and the Road Map. The
solutions to the problem lie in Ramallah and Gaza, from where the terrorism
is directed, not in the Hague or Manhattan.

Israel calls on the Palestinian side to end its campaign of terrorism and to
return to the path of negotiations. Israel calls on the international
community not to lend its hand to the ongoing Palestinian attempts to use
international forums to avoid fulfilling their own commitment to fight
terrorism.

Permanent Mission of Israel to the United Nations . 800 Second Avenue New
York, NY 10017
Ph: (212) 499-5510 . Fax: (212) 499-5516 . israel-un@newyork.mfa.gov.il