Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon on Sunday raised Israel's voice on the UN court's ruling on its controversial West Bank separation barrier, saying the country totally rejects the ruling.

"I want to make clear, the state of Israel totally rejects the ruling of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague. It is a one-sided and politically motivated ruling," Sharon said at the beginning of a weekly cabinet session.

He said that the decision sent a destructive message to encourage terror and denounced countries that were defending themselves against it.

He also accused the court of ignoring "the reason behind the construction of the fence," referring to the anti-Israeli attacks carried out by Palestinian militant groups.

"To continue the construction of the barrier is the most reasonable measure to take against terror," Sharon said.

The hawkish prime minister called on all nations that are part of the global war on terror to reject the court's ruling, adding that he hoped "this immoral decision will disappear from the world."

The ICJ ruled on Friday that the Israeli separation fence was illegal and must be dismantled, and compensations must be paid to Palestinians whose properties were confiscated for its construction.

Sharon's words echoed other Israeli officials' opposition against the ruling, and was considered as a reinforcement of Israel's strong reaction.

On Friday, Israeli Justice Minister Yosef Lapid expressed his rejection to the ICJ ruling, saying that "we will comply with our High Court decisions, and not with the panel of European Union nations."

A Foreign Ministry spokesman said Friday the ruling "fails to address the essence of the problem and the very reason for building the fence."

The Palestinian leadership, however, has hailed the decision as historic, and is trying to lobby more international support for implementing the UN court's ruling though it is not legally binding.

Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat described the ICJ's decision as a "real victory," saying it is "a good decision, and the voice of right and law."

"The decision is a real victory for the Palestinian people, for all liberal nations, for the world's freedom movements, for the international resolutions and for the sake of making just, everlasting and comprehensive peace," Arafat said.

Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qurei told reporters Friday that The Hague court's decision calling to stop building the security wall in the West Bank is "a slap on Israel's face." "The court's decision is historic, a real victory and a slap on the face of those fanatics who insist to build the apartheid wall for security excuses," Qurei said.

On the other side, Israel is mobilizing efforts to contain the damaging diplomatic effect of the decision by the ruling. Israel's immediate goal is to convince "relevant countries" not to vote in favor of the ruling when it is brought to the General Assembly of the United Nations.

Israeli Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom said Saturday that Israel had asked the United States to veto any resolution by the UN Security Council that declares the Israeli barrier illegal. Shalom said he had spent the past week in the United States, trying to block the resolution.

Israel hopes that Western countries would avoid supporting the resolution, and that it would pass only with the support of developing countries.

Bomb attack in Tel Aviv results from ICJ ruling: Sharon

Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said Sunday that the bomb attack in Tel Aviv was the result of the world court ruling against the West Bank separation fence.

The blast was the first bombing attack following the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruling, the prime minister said at the opening of Sunday's cabinet meeting.

The ruling completely ignored the reason for the construction of the security wall -- murderous Palestinian terrorism, the minister said, adding that Israel rejected the "one-sided" and politically motivated ruling.

One Israeli woman was killed and at least 20 others were wounded when a bomb exploded next to a bus station in Tel Aviv on Sunday.

According to Israel Radio, Al Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades, the armed wing of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat's Fatah movement, had claimed responsibility for the attack.

In last March, a double suicide attack occurred just meters away from the site of today's blast, killing 23 people.

The Hague-based ICJ declared Friday that Israeli construction of the security fence in the West Bank was a violation of international law, demanding the construction be immediately ended, the existing sections be torn down and Palestinian civilians suffering damage from the construction be compensated.

(Xinhua News Agency July 12, 2004)