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On February 23, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) will begin to hear arguments about whether Israel's security fence is legal under international law. Israel's security fence is a temporary defensive measure against terrorists. Since October 2000, many terrorists have infiltrated Israel from the West Bank and carried out hundreds of suicide attacks on the Israeli public. If terrorism ends, there will be no need for a security fence. The fence is part of the broader political dispute with the Palestinians that can only be settled through negotiations. There is no legal remedy for the dispute and the ICJ has no jurisdiction over it.

The Court's opinion about the fence is not legally binding. However, a ruling against Israel's position will have significant political consequences. It will feed the international campaign to isolate and de-legitimize Israel. It will diminish the credibility of the ICJ by compromising its non-partisan/non-political stature. And it will undermine the peace process by providing the Palestinians with another international forum through which to circumvent direct negotiations with Israel.

The following questions and answers are designed to provide a basic understanding of the issues surrounding the security fence and the ICJ so that you can be better informed about this debate. You can also download Israel, the Anti-Terror Fence and the International Court of Justice in PDF format.

Q. Why is Israel building the anti-terror fence?

Q. How will the security fence be constructed?

Q. Where will the security fence go?

Q. Why is the security fence being built on "occupied Palestinian land" in the West Bank?

Q. What is the International Court of Justice?

Q. Why was the ICJ asked to consider Israel's security fence?

Q. If the ICJ's opinion about the fence is not legally binding, what differences does it make?

Q. What is Canada's position on the anti-terror fence and the ICJ?

Q. Why is Israel building the anti-terror fence?
A. Since the fall of 2000, 155 suicide attacks were carried out in Israel and an additional 314 attacks were prevented. As a result, more than 900 Israelis have been killed and over 6,000 wounded. Most of these attacks have originated in the West Bank. In fact, since the completion of a fence separating the Gaza Strip from Israel, there has not been one successful terrorist incursion from Gaza. The boundary between the West Bank and Israel, on the other hand, is porous, with dozens of soft spots that have been exploited by terrorists. The fence will place a barrier in the path of terrorists until terrorism ends and serious negotiations resume.

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Q. How will the security fence be constructed?
A. The security barrier is a fence, not a wall. Despite constant media references to a "wall", 97% of the planned 720 km. barrier will be a chain-link fence, supported by cameras and high-tech detection systems. Less than 3% of the barrier will be a concrete wall, primarily limited to sections of Israeli highways most vulnerable to Palestinian sniper-fire.

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Q. Where will the security fence go?
A. The route of the fence is being determined solely on the basis of security needs. While Israelis acknowledge that some disruption to Palestinian daily life may be unavoidable, every effort is made to minimize the inconvenience. Compensation is provided for Palestinian-owned property used to build the fence, and access for Palestinian farmers to their fields is assured. No land will be annexed by Israel nor will the legal status of the Palestinians be changed. The fence will not establish a border of any kind; the final border can only be determined through negotiations.

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Q. Why is the security fence being built on "occupied Palestinian land" in the West Bank?
A. The West Bank is disputed territory, the status of which can only be resolved through negotiations. The sole purpose for extending the fence into the West Bank is to protect the lives of the residents of Jewish communities there. Even then, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has said that many Jewish communities beyond the security fence may have to be moved or evacuated.

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Q. What is the International Court of Justice?
A. Based in The Hague, Netherlands, The International Court of Justice (also known as the World Court) is the highest judicial arm of the United Nations. Its primary duty is to settle international disputes between states. If asked, it can also give advisory opinions on international legal questions. The Court's judgments are only binding when all sides agree to give it this authority, such as in the dispute between Canada and the United States over fishing rights off of the coast of Maine in the 1980s. With regard to the security fence, Israel has challenged the Court's jurisdiction as it does not believe this case should have been brought before it.

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Q. Why was the ICJ asked to consider Israel's security fence?
A. Last December 8, the UN General Assembly adopted a Palestinian-initiated resolution asking the Court to comment on the "legal consequences" of the fence. While the specific reference in the resolution is to the fence, in effect, it is Israel itself that is on trial. Involving the World Court in this matter is another exploitation of an international institution for partisan purposes: namely, the isolation and delegitimization of Israel. Taking on this case threatens to undermine the Court's credibility to deal with legitimate international legal disputes.

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Q. If the ICJ's opinion about the fence is not legally binding, what differences does it make?
A. It is the political implications of a negative opinion by the Court that will be injurious to Israel. As Israel's Justice Minister Yosef Lapid has said, it is the first step toward turning Israel into a pariah state. The pro-Palestinian "automatic majority" in the UN General Assembly will use the Court's finding to pressure the Security Council to impose economic and political sanctions against Israel. In addition, the ICJ ruling will undermine the peace process by strengthening the Palestinian leadership's belief that there is more to be gained by internationalizing the conflict with Israel rather than by fulfilling their obligations under the international "road map" of ending terrorism and resuming direct negotiations.

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Q. What is Canada's position on the anti-terror fence and the ICJ?
A. Many Western countries, including Canada, do not oppose Israel's security fence, although they have concern about its extension into the "occupied territories." At the same time, Canada is strongly opposed both to the manipulation of international institutions for political purposes, and to efforts to isolate or expel Israel from those institutions. These principles were reflected in Canada's January 30 submission to the ICJ. While Canada expressed concern about aspects of the fence, it criticized the impropriety of the Court intervening in a political dispute beyond its jurisdiction, and reiterated Canada's support, in principle, for Israel's right to defend its citizens.