PSNA Co-chair Maher Nazzal, says that the rest of the world recoils in horror at Israel’s cruel and depraved war crimes against the Palestinian people, but Winston Peters has washed his hands and walked away.
“Peters says the lesson he has learned over the past week, as other countries have joined together to recognise Palestine, was that this just provokes Israel to more violence.”
“That is not the way aggression should be rewarded. That attitude in the 1930s by Britain led to WW2.”
“Peters told UN delegates their governments were failing to provide leadership to solve vital world issues. He then revealed his own greatest failure of New Zealand leadership in decades.”
“He had nothing to say about Israel breaching multiple international laws. The word ‘occupation’ never passed his lips. He ascribed Palestinian resistance to Israel as due to ‘hate’, but no hint of concern came from him of the decades of Israel breaking peace agreements, and of dispossession and mass expulsion of Palestinians.”
“Palestinians have a right of return to their homes, which the UN has reiterated every year since 1948. He said nothing about that. Just nonsense about recognising Palestine after the issues are all solved.”
“He must know that unless the world takes real action, those issues will never be solved and Israel will make sure there is nothing of a Palestinian state, or people, to recognise.”
“He just ticked off a list of talking points published this week from the New Zealand Israel Institute.”
“New Zealand has been appeasing Israel for 77 years, and Winston Peters continues New Zealand on the same well-worn path, based on anti-Palestinian racism and mis-identified New Zealand self-interest,” Nazzal says.
“He has stood on the wrong side of history all his political career and today decided to close the gap between New Zealand and the US and the racist apartheid state of Israel.”
“A deeply shameful day for New Zealand. I’m sure war criminal Netanyahu has already sent him a message of gratitude,” Nazzal says.
“The way forward is for sanctions against Israel to end the genocide – Peters isn’t even at the start line.”
Maher Nazzal
Co-Chair PSNA
