WASHINGTON, Jan 31: The United States and the European Union on Friday expressed opposition to a hearing by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) of a plea against the Israeli barrier.

In Washington, a State Department spokesman said the UN referral on the Israeli barrier could damage Middle East peace efforts and set a dangerous precedent.

Irish Foreign Minister Brian Cowen, whose country currently holds the EU presidency, reaffirmed Brussels's opposition to the hearing, although the bloc is also adamantly opposed to the barrier.

Palestinians have argued the barrier's route, which at points juts deep into their territory, proves it is little more than an attempt to pre-empt the borders of their promised state and grab some of their most fertile land.

Israel welcomed on Saturday US and EU opposition to the world court taking up deliberations on the legality of the controversial barrier the Jewish state is building to separate itself from the West Bank.

But Palestinian minister Saeb Erakat denounced the US and EU stance, saying that "the United States, Britain and Germany ask the Palestinians not to have recourse to violence, but when the Palestinians have recourse to diplomacy they slam the door on us".

The State Department spokesman said the continuing US view was that the "(UN) referral is inappropriate and may impede efforts to achieve progress towards a negotiated settlement between Israelis and Palestinians".

A senior State Department official later said the UN General Assembly decision to send the matter to the ICJ would bode ill for the future.

"This is a very unusual referral and we're concerned that if the court accepts the case it could open the door" for spurious complaints, the official said.

Israeli Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom "praised the positions of the United States, the European Union and other states" on the barrier hearing, a ministry spokeswoman said.

"He (Shalom) hopes the court will decline to discuss the legality of the security fence, which is a political question," she said.

Israel formally submitted a written challenge on Friday to the right of ICJ to rule on the barrier. -AFP