The World Court will hold hearings in February on the legal consequences of the building of the controversial barrier by Israel in the West Bank.
On Monday, the UN General Assembly voted for a Palestinian-initiated resolution to ask the International Court of Justice - also known as the World Court - whether Israel was legally obliged to tear down the barrier it was constructing in the Palestinian territory.
The announcement follows more pressure today on Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon over his threat to take unilateral steps to impose a peace plan in the region.
The plan would give Palestinians statehood but would deny them land they believe is rightfully theirs. It would also maintain the West Bank barrier but would involve the closure of some Jewish settlements in Palestinian territory.
The United States, Palestinians and some within Israel are concerned at the threat of breaking with the internationally-backed "road map" for peace.
Right wing Israelis are furious at the suggestion that outposts could be dismantled in areas of religious significance to some Jews, while the political middle-ground is sceptical.
Opposition leader Mr Shimon Peres today blasted Mr Sharon's plan suggesting it would make road map impossible.
And the White House condemned Mr Sharon's warning that Israel was ready to go it alone in a major policy speech yesterday and urged him to meet Palestinian counterpart Mr Ahmed Qurie for talks on reviving the road map.
However, in an apparantly contradictory position, President George W Bush's spokesman, Mr Scott McClellan, later said: "We were very pleased with the overall speech ... [it contained] some important pledges".
Yesterday Mr McClellan said Washigton was opposed to "any unilateral steps that block the road toward negotiations under the road map".