Israel faces SA-style boycott

2004-01-04 15:24

Jerusalem - Israel faces a boycott from the international community over its West Bank separation barrier similar to that faced by South Africa during the apartheid era, a senior government minister warned on Sunday.

"There is a danger that we will be exposed to an international boycott as was the case before the fall of the regime in South Africa," Justice Minister Tommy Lapid told Sunday's cabinet meeting, his spokesperson Tzahi Moshe told AFP.

Lapid, who is also a deputy prime minister, said the government should "have another look" at the route of the barrier which has attracted widespread international condemnation as it juts deep into Palestinian territory.

The UN General Assembly has referred the barrier to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague which is expected to begin hearings on February 23.

In a resolution passed by 90 votes to eight with 74 abstentions on December 8, the assembly asked the ICJ to rule on the legal consequences of the barrier "which Israel, the occupying power, is constructing in occupied Palestinian territory".

Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said in a keynote speech last month that construction would be accelerated despite the chorus of condemnation. US President George W. Bush has said the barrier is undermining confidence in the Middle East process and the internationally-drafted roadmap for peace.

Sharon's government insists that the barrier, which it calls a "security fence", is essential to prevent attacks on Israeli territory by Palestinian militants.

But the Palestinians see the montage of barbed wire fencing and concrete as an attempt to pre-empt the boundaries of any future two-state settlement and grab some of their most fertile land.

Lapid is leader of the centrist Shinui party, the second largest member of the Israeli coalition cabinet after Sharon's own Likud party.

- AFP