MIDDLE EAST: Israeli leaders yesterday fobbed off a UN General Assembly resolution calling on them to "stop and reverse" the huge barrier Israel is building on Palestinian land in the West Bank, insisting they would continue its construction.
"The fence will continue being built and we will go on taking care of the security of Israel's citizens," said Deputy Prime Minister Mr Ehud Olmert.
The government, he added, had no intention of heeding what he called "the dictates of an automatic, hostile, inconsiderate and misguided majority that always acts against Israel".
The UN overwhelmingly approved the resolution on Tuesday evening, with only the United States, Israel, the Marshall Islands and Micronesia opposing the motion, which passed by 144 votes to four with 12 abstentions.
The 15 EU countries supported the resolution, which included a condemnation of Palestinian suicide bombings.
Last week the US vetoed a similar text at the 15-member UN security council which did not include a condemnation of Palestinian attacks.
The resolution also included a condemnation of the killing of three US security officials in the Gaza Strip.
Six hours of negotiations and acrimonious exchanges preceded the vote on the resolution, which "demands that Israel stop and reverse the construction of the wall in the occupied Palestinian territory, including in and around East Jerusalem, which is in departure of the Armistice Line of 1949 and is in contradiction to relevant provisions of international law".
The EU countries gave their support after the proposers of the resolution agreed to remove wording calling the barrier "illegal" and to substitute the phrase "in contradiction to relevant provisions of international law".
Israel's UN ambassador, Mr Dan Gillerman, asked if it was "legitimate" for the secretary general to focus on Israeli security measures "but not on Palestinian violations and terrorism that necessitate those measures".
The Palestinian UN observer, Mr Nasser al-Kidwa, accused Mr Gillerman of "intimidation and blackmail".
Mr Dore Gold, an aide to Israeli Prime Minister Mr Ariel Sharon, yesterday called the UN decision "fundamentally flawed". Israel says the fence, which ultimately will be 350 km long and contains small sections of wall, is meant to keep Palestinian suicide bombers out of its cities.
But the fence has veered away from the 1967 border between Israel and the West Bank and cuts into the land on which Palestinians hope to create a state.
The UN resolution said this fact could undermine efforts to reach a two-state solution to the conflict.
The barrier - some 150 km have already been built along the northern West Bank - has also cut off Palestinian farmers from their land and has turned a number of villages and towns into fenced-off enclaves.
Senior Palestinian Authority official Mr Saeb Erekat said Israel's rejection of the resolution "reflects an Israeli determination to continue violating international law and continue the path of occupation" .
The Americans have also expressed misgivings over the fence, fearing its continued presence will prejudice the outcome of future negotiations over the border between Israel and a Palestinian state.