New Zealand Must “Throw Everything” at Ending Israeli Destruction in Gaza, Amid Horror of Palestinian Civilian Casualties and Risks of Dangerous Escalation – Foreign Policy Group
A New Zealand foreign policy group is calling for the New Zealand government to redouble efforts to end Israel’s assaults on Gaza, following the horror of attacks on civilians overnight (NZ time).
Reuters has reported that an Israeli air strike killed six people at an United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA) school, and a massive blast at Al-Ahli Baptist Hospital in Gaza killing hundreds of people has been attributed to an Israeli air strike by officials in Palestine (withjournalists acknowledging that a blast of this size is likely to come from Israel, and Canon Richard Sewell of the Anglican Church in Jerusalem confirming that the same hospital had been hit earlier by a warning air strike that he understood to be an Israeli strike).
“These Israeli attacks on Gaza are destroying whole communities and peoples in violation of international law, which is why an increasing number of people are describing these attacks as genocidal – and these exceptional circumstances call for the utmost urgency from the New Zealand government in demanding a ceasefire,” says Arama Rata, co-director of Te Kuaka, a progressive foreign policy group.
“We’re urging the government to throw everything at calls for a ceasefire – including using all NGO contacts available to speak with the same voice, drawing on all diplomatic connections, and using channels at the United Nations or any other available forum,” adds Max Harris, also of Te Kuaka.
“There’s now an alarming risk that dangerous escalation will inflame regional stability in the Middle East and destabilise other parts of the world, as well as drawing in other nuclear powers into a conflict that could have unimaginably horrific consequences,” says Rata.
Commentators in mainstream media outlets have flagged the prospect of an Israel-Iran confrontation. The heads of MI5 and the CIA have said events in the Middle East could increase terrorist threats in the UK, the US, and elsewhere.
Notes
– Human Rights Watch has confirmed that Israel has used white phosphorus in Gaza in violation of international law
