UNITED NATIONS - The UN General Assembly voted overwhelmingly on Tuesday to demand that Israel obey a World Court ruling and tear down its West Bank barrier. The vote in the 191-nation assembly was 150-6, with 10 abstentions. All 25 European Union countries voted in support of the Palestinian-drafted measure after its Arab sponsors approved a series of amendments proposed by the EU bloc over days of intense negotiations. However, the United States, Israel's closest ally, typically voted "no"

According to media reports, French diplomats told their Israeli counterparts that before being welcome in Paris, Sharon would have to explain recent comments made over the weekend that French Jews should emigrate to Israel to evade anti-Semitism. Israeli television cited Chirac as saying, "you are not welcome after your comments,." A spokeswoman for the French government said, according to agency reports, "a possible visit by the Israeli prime minister to Paris, for which no date has been set, will be examined only when the explanations called for have been provided"