Staunch Friend of Israel Questions International Court's Role in Security Fence Debate
by Chad Groening and Jody Brown
February 24, 2004
(AgapePress) - One of the nation's prominent conservative pundits thinks it is "astonishing" that the issue of Israel's security wall would go before the International Criminal Court in The Hague.The International Criminal Court was established in 1998 when 120 members of the United Nations adopted a statute calling for the court's creation. Almost four years later, that statute was made into force after 60 nations had ratified or acceded to it. The ICC's website describes the court as the "first ever permanent, treaty-based, international criminal court established to promote the rule of law and ensure that the gravest international crimes do not go unpunished."
That's the part that has Gary Bauer perplexed. He believes that in building a security wall in its country, Israel is not committing a crime. Israel, he says, has the right to defend itself from Palestinian terrorist attacks.
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Gary Bauer |
"It's just astonishing that this issue would even be before some so-called international court," Bauer says. "Israel has an obligation to defend its citizens -- and that obligation was brought home even more this weekend when yet another genocidal bomber blew himself up and killed and wounded nearly 60 people."In fact, the president of American Values says Israel has a duty to build the fence as a defense against "mass murderers who are regularly attacking them." That is why he hopes the Jewish state will remain steadfast.
"I'm hopeful that Israel will ignore any ruling that the court makes, and I hope that the United States will take the same position," he says. "But we do need to keep in mind that even though the United States agrees with Israel that the court has no jurisdiction, the U.S. is pressuring Israel behind the scene to not build the security fence in places where they're building it. So I think U.S. policy still needs to get cleaned up a little bit, too."
Bauer says the whole court proceeding is a fiasco, and that he agrees with Israel that the court has no jurisdiction in this matter. He also encourages Christians to ponder how the birthplace of Christ has "fallen into the hands of a culture that produces homicide bombers and worships death."
