[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 150 (2004), Part 11]
[House]
[Pages 15033-15034]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




INTERNATIONAL COURT OF JUSTICE RULES AGAINST ISRAEL'S RIGHT TO PROTECT 
                                 ITSELF

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Gingrey). Under a previous order of the 
House, the gentleman from New York (Mr. Engel) is recognized for 5 
minutes.
  Mr. ENGEL. Mr. Speaker, today the so-called International Court of 
Justice, which I think would be better named the ``International Court 
of Injustice,'' ruled against Israel putting up a security fence, which 
she put up in order to protect her people against suicide bombers.
  No condemnation from the ``International Court of Injustice'' about 
suicide bombers and the killing of innocent civilians and the terror 
campaign that has been waged against Israel by the Palestinians for the 
past 3 years. No talk about the children, the schoolchildren who have 
been blown up as they go to school on buses, or the pregnant women that 
have been killed because of Palestinian terror. But only, once again, a 
ruling condemning the State of Israel.
  I do not think that any Nation, having the need to protect its 
citizens, would act any differently than the State of Israel in putting 
up this fence to keep suicide bombers out. It is hypocrisy for the 
International Court of Justice, it is hypocrisy for the United Nations, 
the hypocrisy of these countries that would have one standard for the 
State of Israel and one standard for every other country.
  Other nations have fences, yet we hear no condemnation towards those 
countries from the International Court of Justice. India, Saudi Arabia, 
Turkey all have fences to deal with insurgencies or terrorism, but yet 
the very countries that condemn Israel for the same thing, we hear nary 
a peep from them about other countries.
  The International Court of Justice should not have even heard this 
case. But, again, of course, they have one separate standard for the 
State of Israel and one separate standard for every other country.
  Today's decision by the International Court of Justice is in itself a 
travesty of justice. The Israeli security barrier is not only 
protecting innocent Israeli civilians from terrorism; it is allowing 
Palestinians to achieve a greater degree of normalcy as Israeli 
checkpoints have been removed and terrorists are less able to pass 
through Palestinian communities.
  The Prime Minister of Israel's disengagement plan endorsed by our 
country, the European Union, the United Nations, and Russia was based 
in large part on steps by Israel to achieve greater security, including 
the establishment of this temporary security fence. As soon as 
Palestinian terrorism ends, there will no longer be a need for this 
antiterrorism barrier. The ruling of the ICJ sets back the Middle East 
peace process by undermining the disengagement plan and the road map.
  The Israeli Supreme Court recently ruled that the security barrier is 
a legitimate and legal tool to prevent terror, but that there must be a 
balance between security and the impact on Palestinian communities. I 
cannot comprehend why an international tribunal has taken up and now 
reached a

[[Page 15034]]

decision on a case which had already been competently handled by a 
national court.
  Now, this decision is merely advisory. I call upon the members of the 
United Nations General Assembly to correct this mistake by not taking 
up a resolution to implement the recommendations of the International 
Court of Justice. If they do, the United Nations will once again show 
that it is not functioning the way it was intended; that instead of 
being an impartial group, it is leaning heavily on one side, and as 
Abba Eban, the late Foreign Minister of Israel, used to say, you could 
have a resolution at the United Nations saying that the Earth is flat, 
and if it were put forward by an Arab country, it would automatically 
get 70 or more votes.
  The fence that Israel has put up is a fence that any nation would put 
up to defend its people and keep terrorism away. Just as we in the 
United States are doing everything possible to prevent another 
terrorist attack on our country, Israel has every right to do the same 
thing to prevent terrorist attacks on its country. Terrorism is a 
terrible tool that some think can be used as a negotiating tool. We 
must stomp out this scourge of terrorism wherever it rears its ugly 
head.
  I commend Israel for the security barrier, and I condemn the 
``International Court of Injustice'' for once again showing that they 
are nothing more than a travesty of justice.

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