I have already done several postings about the ICJ opinion condemning the separation wall. But the ruling is so important it bears careful thought and analysis. What I find particularly interesting is that the ruling condemns not only the wall itself, but the whole settlement project as violating international law. Nidal Sliman, a Palestinian lawyer, provides us with a clear and dispassionate legal analysis of the ruling.
“…the existence of the Israeli settlements in the West Bank violates the Fourth Geneva Convention. Hence, ‘the segments of the wall being built by Israel to protect the settlements are ipso facto in violation of international humanitarian law. Moreover, given the demonstrable great hardship to which the affected Palestinian population is being subjected in and around the enclaves created by those segments of the wall, I seriously doubt that the wall would here satisfy the proportionality requirement to qualify as a legitimate measure of self-defense.’”
