Friday, July 23, 2004

Bouncing around the Net today

I passed an amusing response to this article:

UN vote demands Israel tear down barrier


The UN General Assembly has voted overwhelmingly to demand Israel obey a World Court ruling and tear down its West Bank barrier, but Australia has joined Israel and the United States in opposing the resolution.
The vote in the 191-nation assembly was 150-6, with 10 abstentions. The tiny Pacific states of Marshall Islands, Micronesia, and Palau also voted 'no'.
Israel, which does not have to obey the General Assembly ruling, has said it will be ignored.
Only a UN Security Council resolution would be binding, which the United States, as permanent member, would be expected to block.

 

Only a Security Council resolution would be binding.  What would the UN do then?  If the US were on that side, I suppose they'd sick us on them.
Israeli UN ambassador Dan Gillerman criticised the vote.
"Mr President, allow me to start with a vote of thanks. Thank God that the fate of Israel and of the Jewish people is not decided in this hall," he said.
I find this response more satisfying.

This website provides a justification for the wall:
During the 34 months from the beginning of the violence in September 2000 until the construction of the first continuous segment of the security fence at the end of July 2003, Samaria-based terrorists carried out 73 attacks in which 293 Israelis were killed and 1950 wounded. In the 11 months between the erection of the first segment at the beginning of August 2003 and the end of June 2004, only three attacks were successful, and all three occurred in the first half of 2003.

Since construction of the fence began, the number of attacks has declined by more than 90%. The number of Israelis murdered and wounded has decreased by more than 70% and 85%, respectively, after erection of the fence.
No one has the right to tell others that they can't protect themselves.
 

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