EU Diplomat says Israeli Wall a Success

The EU's representative in the Middle East, Marc Otte, has conceded that the controversial wall being built by Israel in the West Bank has stopped Palestinian extremists from carrying out suicide attacks in Israel. His comments, made in an interview with Financial Times Deutschland, make him the first high-level EU diplomat to publicly say that the barrier has fulfilled its aim. "The barrier has drastically sunk the number of attacks," said the Belgian diplomat. However, although he admitted that the number of attacks has fallen, he told FT Deutschland that it does not mean that he finds the wall good. Marc Otte said that the problems with the wall and international law remain. The International Court of Justice has criticised the course of the wall which, in parts, runs over Palestinian territory and not along the Green Line -- the pre-1967 border. (EUobserver.com)