Israel: High Court upholds the construction of the wall in the West Bank

On 26 November, a panel of nine Supreme Court judges unanimously upheld the route of the separation wall in the West Bank, in a case in which the Palestinian petitioners claimed that the wall violated their property rights and their economic, social and cultural rights. The Israeli Government has defended the construction of the wall as necessary to prevent terrorist attacks. The Court held that the balance between the degree of security obtained for Israeli citizens and the injury to the rights of the Palestinians was proportional. In 2004, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) found that the construction of the wall violated international law.