Israel’s contempt for the International Court of Justice and the UN General Assembly is well known enough, given its unqualified refusal to respect the decisions of those bodies as to the illegality of the separation wall. What is less well known, however, is Israel’s contempt for its own courts and institutions of law. Although the Israeli High Court of Justice ruled a month ago that a 30-km section of the separation wall route around Jerusalem is illegal and must be altered, to respect what the it called the "the proper balance between security and humanitarian considerations," Israeli security forces fully expect to continue building the wall around Jerusalem on the originally-planned route.

Israel’s defense minister, Shaul Mofaz, said to the press yesterday that two large illegal settlement blocks in the West Bank, Maale Adumin and Gush Etzion, would definitely be included in the “Israeli side” of the separation wall: “I see Maale Adumin as part of Jerusalem that will form territorial contiguity with the capital,” Mofaz said yesterday, in contempt of his own country’s High Court, and in naked disregard for all internationally-accepted laws and norms governing the behavior of occupying belligerents on occupied territories. Mofaz also confirmed that Israel has no intention of building the wall on the “Green Line,” which is a route preferred by many critics of the wall.

Although the Israeli High Court’s ruling was woefully inadequate, it is astonishing to see the extent to which its advice has been disregarded by the likes of Mofaz and officials in the Israeli armed forces. And while many Israeli politicians and intellectuals continuously praise the greatness of Israel’s democracy – this is what distinguishes us from the Arabs, they said proudly, in the wake of the High Court ruling – the Israeli government’s commitment to its own democratic institutions, leave alone those of international law, is negligible.

The final route of the wall in the Jerusalem area has yet to be decided upon. While the squabbling between the Israeli government and military officials continues, for the thousands of residents of towns such as Beit Hanina, Dahyieh, Shaufat and Al-Ram, the uncertainty as to the final route constitutes a grave crisis in and of itself. None of the residents of these towns know on which side of the wall they will finally end up in; and thus, in the absence of certitude, fear and resignation have begun to dictate their lives. Every day, more shops close; every day more shutters come down; every day more people pack up and move out; and slowly, before our eyes, these once vibrant Palestinian towns that dot the countryside between Jerusalem and Ramallah become dusty little forgotten ghost towns.

Meanwhile, Israel’s Defense Minister continues to tour the ever-expanding, ever-flourishing illegal settlements, making promises that contradict the basic principles of human rights, and the advice of the highest court of his own country.