EU: The European Union is considering making a formal submission to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) objecting to the security barrier that Israel is erecting in the occupied Palestinian territory, writes Tim King.
Spain is believed to be championing the idea within the EU's council of ministers, although France, Germany and the UK are more reluctant.
The UN General Assembly decided in December to seek an advisory opinion from the international court on the legality of the security barrier.
At that stage the EU was opposed to referring the matter to the ICJ, saying that the request for advice was "inappropriate" since it would not help re-launch political dialogue between Israelis and Palestinians. But now that the request for an (non-binding) opinion has been made, Spain is pressing for the EU collectively to contribute its views on the security barrier.
In October last year, the EU sponsored a resolution at the United Nations which called on Israel to stop and reverse construction of the security barrier in the occupied Palestinian territory. It described the construction as contravening international law.
"Our position is that we would rather the matter had not been referred to the ICJ but given that it has, we might contribute our disapproval of the barrier," an EU source said. EU sources suggest there is now a debate as to whether EU states should write to the ICJ individually or collectively.