Israel and the new Wall

In other news, for those who didn't hear Australia, along with the US and three small pacific islands, formed the stubborn opposition to a UN resolution supporting a world court ruling that a barrier that Israel is building on Palestinian land constitutes a land grab, is illegal and should stop.

Israel for its part lashed out at Europe claiming they were 'no longer neutral' - the "everybody's against me (because I'm breaking the law)" defence it seems - despite the fact that the resolution was effectively a recommendation and did not include any sanctions. Given that Europe is Israel's biggest trade partner such sanctions could have been severe.

So that's where Australia stands in the world... still, we (collectively) voted for John Howard and we know where he stands on land grabs.