The Palestinian Authority said on Saturday it had submitted a formal affidavit to the World Court supporting its right to rule on a huge barrier Israel is building in the West Bank.
Israel, the United States and Britain submitted their own affidavits by Friday's deadline, opposing hearings on the issue to be held by The Hague-based International Court of Justice.
Saeb Erekat, a Palestinian cabinet minister, said the court had "full jurisdiction" and that the Palestinian position was submitted on Thursday based on how the barrier, which cuts deep into Palestinian land, affected the Palestinians' daily lives.
"The fact that it's being built in Palestinian territory is a flagrant violation of international law," he told Reuters.
Israel says completed sections of razor wire and concrete prevent suicide bombers from reaching its territory. Hundreds of Israelis have died in suicide bombings since the start of a Palestinian uprising three years ago.
The death toll from a suicide bombing of a Jerusalem bus by a Palestinian militant rose to 11 on Saturday after body was identified amongst the carnage, Israeli police said. It was the first such attack in the city in over four months.
Palestinians say the barrier is an "Apartheid Wall" designed to loop around Jewish settlements and seal a permanent hold on land Israel has occupied since the 1967 Middle East war.
Erekat said the Palestinian affidavit was in line with US and British calls to Palestinians to pursue diplomatic means, not violence, to achieve an independent state.
The United States filed its argument on Friday saying the World Court was not the proper forum to decide the legality of the barrier. London handed the court a statement protesting any hearing on the barrier held without Israel's agreement.
The tribunal begins deliberations on February 23 on a UN General Assembly request to rule whether Israel is legally obliged to tear down the barrier. The court has authorised the Arab League to take part in the proceedings in support of the Palestinians.
ISRAELI ARMY BACK BRIEFLY IN BETHLEHEM: Israeli soldiers dashed into the West Bank city of Bethlehem and adjoining refugee camps before dawn for the second day after Thursday's suicide bombing.
Palestinian witnesses said jeeps carrying about 50 troops rolled into the city. They arrested five Palestinians, including three members of the Hamas, before pulling out at around daybreak. Israeli military sources confirmed the raid.
Yasin threatens
In Gaza on Friday, Hamas spiritual leader Sheikh Ahmed Yassin threatened to kidnap Israeli troops, saying it was the only way to gain the release of some 7,000 Palestinians in Israeli jails.
His remarks were particularly jarring to Israelis, given that many believe Israel already paid too high a price by trading more than 400 Arab prisoners - mostly Palestinians - for a kidnapped Israeli businessman and three dead soldiers.
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