Red Cross: Israel's barrier violates humanitarian law

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) yesterday said that Israel's controversial West Bank separation barrier violates international humanitarian law because it cuts across Palestinian land.

"The barrier bars thousands of Palestinians stranded on its western side from adequate access to basic services like water, health care and education," a statement from the body's Geneva headquarters said.

Meantime, the Palestine Media Center reported that "The United States on Wednesday poured cold water on Palestinian, French and Belgian suggestions to send an international peacekeeping force to the Gaza Strip if Israel withdraws from the occupied Palestinian territory, and the European Union said it might contribute to such a force if some key conditions were met. Speaking in Brussels on Wednesday, Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmad Qurei called for the deployment of international peacekeepers if Israel withdraws from occupied Palestinian territory."