WEST BANK Jordan to make case against barrier

Jordan fears Palestinians will start flooding in.
THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) -- The Palestinians delivered an impassioned case against Israel's West Bank barrier in the opening day of a world court hearing. Now Jordan is stepping into the fray.
Jordan is scheduled to make its case against the barrier during today's session, the second day of hearings before the United Nations' highest judicial body on the legality of the structure.
Unlike the other countries supporting the Palestinians this week, Jordan views the barrier as a direct threat.
Jordan fears the barrier will make life so hard for Palestinians that they will flee the West Bank into the neighboring kingdom, straining its resources and upsetting a delicate demographic balance in a country where roughly half of the 5.1 million people are Palestinian.
Avoided by Israel
Israel is avoiding the hearings, saying the case will undermine future peace negotiations. Instead, it has appealed to world opinion in support of the barrier, which it says is needed for self-defense.
On Monday, the Palestinians presented a detailed case to the court, urging the 15-judge panel to take a firm stand against the contentious barrier, a series of walls, fences, razor wire and trenches. As the arguments unfolded in the Grand Hall of Justice of the 90-year-old Peace Palace, it became apparent that the Palestinians hoped to put Israel's 37-year occupation -- not just its separation barrier -- on trial.
"We are here because the United Nations has a permanent responsibility -- legally, politically and morally -- to the question of Palestine until the question is resolved in all its aspects," the chief Palestinian delegate, Nasser Al-Kidwa, told the tribunal.
The Palestinian team, which included Arab and international lawyers, continued with presentations on the legal and human arguments against the barrier.
The Palestinians say the barrier amounts to a land grab and is the culmination of a series of Israeli steps aimed at destroying the possibility of a viable Palestinian state. Completed sections of the planned 450-mile structure dip deep into Palestinian areas in some places, making it hard for thousands of people to reach jobs, schools, fields and hospitals.
Needed for protection
Israel says it needs the barrier, which is about one-quarter built, to protect itself against suicide bombings. The opening session came a day after a Palestinian bomber killed eight Israelis and wounded dozens on a Jerusalem bus. Hundreds of Israelis have died in similar attacks since fighting broke out in late 2000.
Israel accused the Palestinians of failing to address the issue of violence. "To censure the victims for trying to defend themselves is shameful," said Daniel Taub, a Foreign Ministry legal adviser.
Al-Kidwa condemned suicide bombings, but said the barrier is only fueling the resentment that inspires such attacks. "This phenomenon is the result of Israeli policies and measures, including the relentless colonization of our land," he said.
Although the court cannot demand action, the Palestinians hoped for a judgment that would increase pressure on Israel to dismantle the barrier.
Israel has begun making minor changes in the route of the barrier to reduce the effects on Palestinians and has promised further changes. Israel has made it clear, however, it would not be swayed from action it deems necessary to protect its citizens.
Israel, working with private Jewish groups, is appealing to world opinion this week, arranging a series of demonstrations and seminars illustrating the effect of the suicide bombings.
Outside the baroque Peace Palace on Monday, Israelis bearing photographs of relatives who died in suicide bombings clustered around the shell of a Jerusalem bus destroyed three weeks ago by a bomber who killed 11 people. Organizers planned more demonstrations today.
Father's mission
Ron Kehrman, whose 17-year-old daughter Tal died in a March 2003 bus bombing in the city of Haifa, was among the Israelis who came to the Hague. "I decided to shake the world. If I could shake it literally, I would do it," he said. "My daughter didn't do anything wrong."
More than 1,000 pro-Palestinian demonstrators marched from the Dutch parliament to the seat of the court, chanting and carrying photographs of Palestinian children killed by Israeli soldiers.