ISRAEL U.N. will see showdown over barrier

Israel said it plans to continue building the barrier.
JERUSALEM (AP) -- Israelis and Palestinians were lining up support for a showdown at the United Nations over Israel's planned security barrier in the West Bank, while violence erupted in the Gaza Strip and four Palestinians were killed.
Palestinians and the Arab world were elated by a nonbinding world court ruling Friday that declared the barrier illegal and said it should be dismantled.
The Palestinians have said they'll seek the support of the world body's members in the General Assembly, then go to the 15-nation Security Council, which can order action.
Israel's response
Israel said the International Court of Justice in The Hague had no right to make such a decision and it planned to continue building the 425-mile barrier of high concrete walls, razor-wire fences, trenches and watchtowers.
Israeli Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom said he asked U.S. officials to prevent the adoption of any U.N. resolution aimed at enforcing the court's ruling.
In the Gaza Strip, an explosion Saturday killed four Palestinians in what Palestinian officials said was an Israeli tank attack on a car in al-Zahra, on the outskirts of Gaza City.
The army, which had helicopters and tanks in the general area of the blast, said it had not fired at any vehicles and that its soldiers were not in the immediate area of the explosion. Earlier, intense clashes broke out in the nearby Jewish settlement of Netzarim.
Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qureia told European Union envoy Marc Otte on Saturday that he hoped the Americans would not "sabotage our efforts" at the United Nations, meeting participants said.
"It is the responsibility of the international community, it is the responsibility of the U.N., to put [in place] a mechanism to commit Israel to this decision," Qureia told reporters later.
Otte made no commitment, though he noted past EU objections to the barrier, which dips deep into the West Bank in some areas, and has disrupted the lives of thousands of Palestinians.
About a quarter of the barrier has been completed.
Washington disagrees
Washington, which often has used its veto in the 15-nation Security Council to block resolutions critical of Israel, disagreed with the world court on the issue and said it believed no further U.N. action is necessary.
Shalom's spokesman Moshe Devi confirmed that the foreign minister had approached Washington in the matter last week, but said he also had asked the 25 EU nations for backing.