Last-Minute Haggling Delays U.N. Vote on Condemning Israel's Barrier [View All]

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If the 191-nation General Assembly passed the first resolution, its supporters would drop a second resolution asking the International Court of Justice for an advisory opinion on the barrier, diplomats said.

"We are close. Close to a breakthrough, close to collapse," Sweden's U.N. Ambassador, Pierre Schori, said of the negotiations.

The Palestinians went to the General Assembly after the United States vetoed a Security Council resolution last week that would declare that the construction of a barrier was illegal and call for it to be dismantled.

General Assembly resolutions carry symbolic weight but are not legally binding, unlike those passed by the Security Council. The Palestinians have non-voting observer status in the assembly.

TBO