New York, NY, October 22, 2003… The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) said the United Nations General Assembly Resolution on Israel's security fence "deliberately fails" to recognize the legitimate security concerns that were the catalysts for the fence's construction.  The League said the resolution's demand that the Secretary General report on the construction is "dangerous, unwarranted and inappropriate." 

"This resolution deliberately fails to recognize the reason the Israeli public is demanding the erection of this security fence: three years of unceasing Palestinian violence and terrorism," said Abraham H. Foxman, ADL National Director.  "While the text of the resolution cites ongoing terrorism and calls on the Palestinians to 'undertake visible efforts on the ground' against terrorism, it does not recognize that it is the terrorism and the Palestinian Authority's failures which are forcing this security barrier to be built.  The Israeli public, targeted on their way to school and work, or at cafes, is clamoring for the added protection this barrier will provide.   

"Moreover, the resolution's call for reports on the status of the construction by the Secretary General is dangerous, unwarranted and inappropriate. Had this resolution truly intended to improve conditions on the ground, the Secretary General would have been charged to report on Palestinian efforts to fight terrorism, rather than on Israel's efforts to prevent it."

The resolution calls on Israel to "stop and reverse" construction of the barrier "in the Occupied Palestinian Territory" and charges the Secretary General to report on Israeli "compliance" with this resolution, with the first report due in one month.  The General Assembly resolution followed a United States veto of a similar resolution in the Security Council last week.