Nobody should be surprised that the International Court of Justice ruled that Israel’s security fence is illegal.
The court is an arm of the United Nations General Assembly, and we all know what a friend to Israel the General Assembly has been. It treats Israel as a rogue republic while stepping over itself to accommodate the anti-democratic nations in the Arab world as well as the Palestinian Authority.
It also comes as no surprise that among the 15 judges of the International Court of Justice are a Palestinian and an Egyptian. Israel is not represented.
It’s no wonder that Israel chose not to cooperate with a body whose decision was obvious even before the first hearing.
The court wasn’t interested in the fact that construction of the fence began after nearly 1,000 Israelis had been killed, many from hideous suicide bombings. Or that in the last four months the fence has helped prevent any additional major attacks within Israel.
No, this is evidence the court wouldn’t consider. The case was limited to the question of whether the fence was illegal under international law.
So how come the court never considered the 460-mile barrier that India just completed in Kashmir to stop infiltrations by Pakistanis? Or the 60-mile barrier that Saudia Arabia built along an undefined border with Yemen to halt the smuggling of weapons?
Clearly politics determined that Israel alone would be targeted. The anti-Zionist forces at the United Nations do anything possible to make Israel look bad on the world stage.
How ironic it is that only a week before the International Court ruled, Israel’s Supreme Court, in two different rulings, ordered that the route of the fence be adjusted because it was slicing into Palestinian communities. The Israel government immediately announced it would comply.
Only in a democratic nation could something like this happen. Israel’s court heard petitions from the Palestinians and ordered changes despite the expense of adjusting an already-constructed part of the fence and despite the country’s security needs.
The International Court is supposed to be a last resort only when an aggrieved party can’t appeal to a local court and be treated fairly.
So what next? Luckily the International Court has no power to enforce its decisions. Its ruling goes to the U.N. General Assembly, which no doubt will announce a blistering criticism against Israel and attempt to pass a resolution against the Jewish state.
Israel has suffered such embarrassments all too often, and is prepared for another one. Yes, it’s a shame. But it isn’t a surprise.