Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi on Saturday urged the United Nations to pressure Israel to tear down a controversial wall it built in Palestinian territory.

The demand comes a day after the world court ruled the Israel's West Bank separation barrier was illegal.

The premier, who is the chairman of the Non-alligned Movement and the 57-member Organisation of the Islamic Conference, hailed the ruling.

"The wall is illegal and must be demolished. The UN can take further action to pressure Israel to tear down the wall," he was quoted as saying by Bernama news agency.

Abdullah did not specify what action the UN should take.

Earlier, Foreign Minister Syed Hamid Albar said he hoped Israel would respect the non-binding verdict.

Decision important

"The international community hopes Israel will respect the world court decision," he said.

Syed Hamid said the decision was important towards solving the long standing Palestine-Israel conflict.

Israel says the wall was built on disputed land and not on Palestinian soil.

Malaysia supports the Palestinian push for an independent state and does not have diplomatic ties with Israel.

Israel has already said it will ignore the non-binding advisory opinion by the Hague-based court, which ruled the 700-kilometre (435-mile) structure violates international law and that the parts that encroach on Palestinian territory should be dismantled.

The ICJ also called on the United Nations to take action to halt the "illegal situation" resulting from the wall and said Israel should compensate Palestinians for damage caused by the construction of the barrier. - AFP