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Senator clinton backs security fence Original Source Link: (May no longer be active)
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull&cid=1075609220000&p=1006688055060http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull&cid=1075609220000&p=1006688055060
Sen. Clinton backs security fence
Melissa Radler Feb. 2, 2004
Israel's security fence, built to halt Palestinian terrorism, is outside the jurisdiction of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) and the court should immediately recuse itself from the case, Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-NY) said Sunday.
"This fence is a legitimate response by a sovereign nation to protect its citizens from terrorist attacks," Clinton told reporters at a press conference outside United Nations headquarters.
Surrounded by Jewish leaders and former New York City mayor Ed Koch, Clinton issued rare praise for the Bush administration for opposing the court's decision to review the legality of the fence.
She also lauded Israel for building the fence, which she described as a restrained, defensive measure against terrorism.
"We need to make it absolutely clear that Israel could, at any time, take massive military action against the terrorists and the Palestinians who support them," she said. "This is an act of restraint, this is an act of defense, this is an act that should be seen for what it is."
The ICJ became embroiled in the fence issue in December, when the UN General Assembly voted, by a small margin, to refer it to the court.
Noting that the UN has backed numerous anti-Israel measures over the years, Clinton announced that she is gathering signatures from her Senate colleagues to UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan to protest the General Assembly resolution.
Clinton said she expects near-unanimous, bipartisan support for her letter.
Standing alongside Clinton was Koch, who said he views the fence as a necessary measure to prevent future terrorist attacks.
"I think there are very few nations in the world that don't have fences on their borders. To denounce the state of Israel simply because it wants to defend its people, which is the job of every government, to me boggles my mind. Don't we have a fence down on the Mexican border?"
Earlier Sunday, at the Jewish Community Relations Council of New York's annual Congressional breakfast, several members of New York's congressional delegation, all Democrats, praised the administration for taking the lead in opposing the ICJ's jurisdiction on the fence.
"We must support the fence and we should not quibble about the route," said Rep. Jerrold Nadler, noting that UN Security Council resolutions calling for Israeli withdrawal from the territories, including 242 and 338, do not call for a withdrawal to the June 4, 1967 lines, but rather a withdrawal based on a negotiated settlement.
"The Palestinians have no standing to complain about the route of the fence as long as they are attacking men, women, and children inside Israel," he said.
Another New York Democrat, Rep. Eliot Engel, said: "I support the fence 100%."
At the press conference Jewish leaders took to the podium to describe the effects of terrorism on Israeli society.
"A fence is reversible," said Ezra Levin, president of the Jewish Community Relations Council. "A life snuffed out by terrorism is not."
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