Last year, two vital bodies of the United Nations made their voices heard loud and clear. The two bodies, the International Court of Justice (ICJ), in The Hague and the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), respectively, issued an advisory opinion and a resolution condemning Israel’s construction of the Separation Wall and called on the State of Israel to stop the construction, as well as to remove the existing segments of the Separation Wall. Despite this resolution and advisory opinion, Israel, lacking all consideration and respect for any international law or ethics, carried on with the construction of the Wall, which has had more than devastating effects on the Palestinian people.

A recent report has uncovered that the Palestinian National Authority is planning to reengage its struggle against Israel’s Separation Wall, once again through the means of diplomacy in the UN. Ahmad Majdalani, the Palestinian Minister without portfolio, is leading the campaign against the Wall. He confirmed yesterday that the PNA is planning to head back to The Hague. Majdalani added that the P.A is planning a wide international campaign against the Wall and settlements.

“Israel had an insane plan. They are trying to Judaize Jerusalem, and annex the Palestinian lands in order to erect more settlements and expand existing settlement blocks. If Sharon wants peace, he should withdraw from the Gaza Strip, and make peace with the Palestinians, without gambling… by annexing lands and building settlements in the West Bank,” Majdalani told the media.

Even though the ICJ’s advisory opinion, as well the UNGA resolution that followed, can be seen as initial diplomatic victories for the Palestinian cause, the PLO must be reminded that these efforts are far from enough. The reason is that none of these resolutions are legally binding to any of the high contracting parties. They are merely a show of defiance and discontent by the international community that, sadly but truly, bear no weight whatsoever. The most prominent example of which is simply Israel’s continued construction of the Wall.

The Palestinian leadership will have to intensify its effort to try to persuade the UNSC to issue a binding resolution that condemns and calls on Israel to halt the construction of the Illegal Separation Wall, as well as stop the construction of settlements that are being erected at a rapid rate, making even the idea of a sovereign and contiguous Palestinian state impossible and far fetched. However, in light of the structure the Security Council and its sixty year-old history with concerns to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, a simple resolution is not enough. Today, Israel is in complete and utter breach of thirty-three Chapter six UNSC resolutions, let alone the two pre-requisite resolutions (181 and 194) for admitting Israel to the UN as an Independent State. A Chapter seven UNSC resolution should forcibly call on Israel to abide by the resolution or face military action through a global alliance for the sake of global peace and security.

Furthermore, the issue of UNSC reform has dominated the media in recent weeks, as the UN reaches its 60th anniversary; much has been mentioned about adding new states, such as Japan, Germany and South Africa, to the council as permanent members with the undemocratic right to veto resolutions. Not to say that the proposed reforms are not encouraging. However, it is very doubtful that these reforms will do anything to promote peace and security with regard to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. What the UNSC and the Palestinian people need is to see firm action taken, as was the case with the resolution justifying the global alliance to liberate Kuwait from Iraq’s forcible annexation, or the rapid implementation of resolution 1559 calling for the withdrawal of Syrian troops and intelligence personnel. Since there are clear precedents for the UN, in particular the UNSC, for implementing certain resolutions, the council needs to take a long overdue firm stance towards Israel’s miserable human rights record, as it has done in the past with other countries. Israel should not always be exclusively granted the status of standing above international law.