Why NZ should take a nuanced path to Palestine recognition – The Front Page

The Government’s decision on whether it’ll recognise the state of Palestine has been put on hold until next month.

It’s despite our closest neighbour following a sweep of countries that have decided to make the declaration.

Nearly 80 years since the United Nations resolution to create the State of Israel and a Palestinian state, Australia’s Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the world “can no longer wait for the implementation of that resolution to be negotiated between the two parties”.

Meanwhile, our Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters has announced the Government is carefully weighing up its position and will present New Zealand’s approach at the United Nations Leaders’ Week in late September.

“It is only right that this complicated issue be approached calmly, cautiously, and judiciously. Over the next month, we look forward to canvassing this broad range of views before taking a proposal to Cabinet,” he said.

So, how should New Zealand proceed? And if it’s a matter of “when not if” we recognise the state of Palestine - as Act’s David Seymour has said - then why the wait?

University of Otago senior politics professor Dr Leon Goldsmith joined The Front Page to unpack the complexities of Middle East conflicts and why it isn’t so “black and white”.

Listen to the full episode to hear more about:

• Why the decision to recognise the state of Palestine isn’t “clear-cut”
• What the recognition – as opposed to supporting a two-state solution – actually means
• The urgent humanitarian needs that should be addressed
• What New Zealand should do next.

The Front Page is a daily news podcast from the New Zealand Herald, available to listen to every weekday from 5am. The podcast is presented by Chelsea Daniels, an Auckland-based journalist with a background in world news and crime/justice reporting who joined NZME in 2016.

You can follow the podcast at iHeartRadio, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.