Prime Minister Christopher Luxon says we are friends to both Israel and Palestine and New Zealand made the right decision to not recognise a Palestine state as his deputy proclaimed it a triumph for reason and not “rule by the mob”.
Luxon will speak with Herald NOW’s Ryan Bridge at 8.05am, which will be streamed live on the NZ Herald homepage.
Speaking to Newstalk ZB’s Mike Hosking he said: “We made the right decision for New Zealand.”
He said he was the Prime Minister who made the designation of Hamas as a terrorist organisation.
“I believe very, very strongly that you can’t recognise a state when terrorists play a significant role in the government, and Hamas is the de facto government of Gaza.
“We’re not pro-Israel, we’re not pro-Palestine, we’re actually friends to both.”
This morning Deputy Prime Minister David Seymour remained tight-lipped on the discussions between Luxon, Peters and himself on the decision to not recognise Palestine as a state.
He would not say if he was the deciding vote in any of the calls made, but he did reveal he was extremely proud of the decision.
When speaking to Herald NOW’s Ryan Bridge, he said this was a “triumph for reason and logic over rule by emotion and rule by the mob”.
He argued that social media played a “major role” in shaping people’s view on the situation, with Kiwis possibly being influenced by dark forces overseas.
“I think that it’s been influenced by people who may not have New Zealand’s best interests at heart.”
When pressed by Bridge, Seymour said that although he did not believe people were lying about famine and horrible atrocities taking place in Gaza, he said there might be an undue concentration placed on the phenomenon.
Seymour said he was not worried about blowback from Gulf or Arab states.
“No, I’m not, because New Zealand has made its decision in a careful and respectful way. They, of course, have a lot to gain from having good relations with New Zealand, as we have a lot to gain from good relations with them.”
Yesterday, Luxon said New Zealand was not yet recognising Palestine’s statehood for fear it would embolden terrorist group Hamas.
It came after Foreign Minister Winston Peters’ speech at the United Nations General Assembly in New York, where we became the latest country to address the issue as world leaders seek a resolution to the conflict between Israel and Hamas.
All three Opposition parties have strongly condemned the decision, claiming it showed Luxon’s cowardice and was a stain on New Zealand’s reputation as a voice for peace.
Responding to the criticism from Opposition parties, Luxon conceded “none of this is great” while acknowledging some New Zealanders will support the Government’s position.
In his speech, without referencing countries by name, Peters acknowledged the “good intentions” of those recognising statehood but warned it could prove counterproductive, saying New Zealand would wait to recognise Palestine when “conditions offer greater prospects for peace and negotiation than at present”.
Luxon said it would require Palestinian territory to be removed from Hamas’ control, a return of remaining hostages and established governance capacity within the Palestinian Authority.
Peters argued Palestine did not meet the criteria of a state as it did not have control over its population or territory and believed recognition should be affirmed when “conditions offer greater prospects for peace and negotiation than at present”.
Luxon is also expected to field questions on Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith’s warning that the Government is prepared to remove tikanga Māori from court rulings.
Goldsmith said last week he was anxious that New Zealand was developing a “bespoke” legal system that incorporated too many aspects of tikanga Māori.
Luxon is yet to comment on Goldsmith’s remarks, just as he has yet to comment on the year-long review into the country’s earthquake-prone building system.
The Post reported that there is expected to be a full overhaul of the system in order to slash billions from remediation costs.