Just in time for the holidays - israel gets reamed . . .

The General Assembly has overwhelmingly approved plans for a UN registry to handle Palestinian claims of damages resulting from Israel's controversial separation barrier in the West Bank.

By a vote of 162 in favor [!!!], seven against -- including Israel, the United States and Australia -- and seven abstentions, the Assembly Friday endorsed a resolution to establish the registry with an office in Vienna made up of a three-member board and a small secretariat.

The resolution, adopted in a special session called by Arab states, said the registry was to serve as "a record, in documentary form, of the damage caused to all natural and legal persons concerned as a result of the construction of the wall by Israel, the occupying power, in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including in and around east Jerusalem."

It said Israel was obliged to return to their righful owners any land, orchards, olive groves and other immovable property seized as part of the barrier's construction.

Should restitution prove materially impossible, Israel has an obligation to compensate those suffering losses or material damage due to the barrier's placement or construction, it added.

The registry, which is to remain open as long as the barrier exists, is to cost about three million dollars (2.4 million euros) a year to operate.

Oh? Who's paying for operating costs until israel closes shop?

Riyad Mansour, the Palestinian observer to the UN, immediately hailed the vote and called on Israel to draw a lesson from the overwhelming UN support for the register.

But Israel's representative said the mechanism was not a "register of damage" but a "register that does damage."

Spare me.

He noted that Israel was already paying 1.5 million dollars in compensation to Palestinians adversely impacted by the security fence.

Of course, israelis are holding that money in escrow until Palestinians have either starved to death or killed eachother off in desperation.

The US delegate explained that he voted against the resolution because it failed to work towards fostering peace and finding a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

But several speakers urged Israel to comply with the World Courts opinion to immediately stop construction of the barrier.

Pigs would sooner fly than israel would comply with world opinion, or international law, for that matter.

The Palestinians have condemned the wall as an attempt to grab land and undermine the viability of their promised future state.

Israel retorts that the barrier is justified as it is vital to stop potential attackers from infiltrating the country and settlements.

The International Court of Justice issued a non-binding ruling in 2004 that parts of the barrier in the West Bank are illegal and should be removed.

They would have more luck extracting water from a rock than they'll have trying to get israelis to remove that wall or pay a dime in compensation to its victims.

But, no matter.

Like all Christmas gifts - it's the thought that counts!

The winds of change are brewing on the horizon.

israel - your days are numbered.

Submitted by qrswave on Sun, 2006-12-17 05:38

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