Nazir Majally, Asharq Al-Awsat

OCCUPIED JERUSALEM, 16 January 2004 — Israel closed down the crossings between the Gaza Strip and Israel yesterday, preventing thousands of Palestinians from reaching their jobs, as international opposition to its barrier separating it from Palestinian territories gathered steam.

The Israeli closure came after yesterday’s bomb attack by a Palestinian mother of two that killed four Israelis at the Erez border crossing.

“She is not going to be the last (attacker) because the march of resistance will continue,” promised Hamas leader Mahmoud Zahar.

The aftermath of the attack meant further hardships for Palestinians.

Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz imposed a one-day closure on Gaza, preventing thousands of workers from crossing into Israel yesterday, and also shutting down the Erez industrial park, where 6,000 Palestinians work. People in the impoverished Gaza Strip depend on those jobs for much of their income.

Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s deputy signaled that Palestinians faced lightning military action to deter hard-line factions from attacks. “We must do whatever we can to prevent the terrible thing that happened yesterday. If it requires striking at those planning or setting in motion acts of murder, then we haven’t refrained from doing so in the past and shall not refrain now,” Deputy Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said on Israel Radio.

Israeli warplanes roared over Gaza City in the morning in what residents feared could be preparations for an airstrike.

Israel’s High Court decided yesterday to hold a hearing within the next month on the legality of the disputed barrier Israel is building in the West Bank, a court spokesman said.

The hearing was to be held before the International Court of Justice at The Hague was due to begin deliberations on Feb. 23 in response to a request by the UN General Assembly to rule on whether Israel was legally obliged to tear down the barrier.

The Israeli court’s decision stemmed from a petition filed by an Israeli human rights group, the Center for the Defense of the Individual, asking it to determine the legality of parts of the barrier that slice into Palestinian territory in the West Bank.

“Three judges will discuss the legality of the fence within a month from today,” a court spokesman said. It was unclear when a three-judge panel would rule in the case.

Israel says the barrier of wire, concrete and trenches is needed to stop Palestinian bombers. Palestinians say it is a land grab designed to pre-judge borders that should be decided in negotiations.

Israeli Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom told his Irish counterpart that Israel remained opposed to plans to debate the barrier in the World Court.

“This subject should be sorted out through political channels and not in the International Court,” Shalom said at a joint press conference with Irish Foreign Minister Brian Cowen.

But Cowen, whose country currently holds the presidency of the European Union, criticized the barrier. He said the EU had not taken a position regarding the case before the International Court of Justice in The Hague, Netherlands.

— Additional input from agencies