The Palestine Solidarity Network Aotearoa is asking MPs from National, ACT and NZ First to individually speak out to condemn Israel for ditching the Gaza ceasefire agreement it signed in January.
PSNA Co-Chair, John Minto says an anaemic tweet from Foreign Minister Winston Peters this morning, continues to express a totally hollow concern, because it carefully avoids blaming Israel for any of what Peters calls ‘incomprehensible human suffering’ in Gaza.
Peters tweeted;
“New Zealand is deeply concerned about renewed fighting in Gaza. A permanent end to the fighting needs to be found. New Zealand has consistently called for a ceasefire and de-escalation of tensions in the region. This is critical for ending the incomprehensible human suffering over the past year and a half. New Zealand calls on both sides to reinstate the ceasefire and fully implement the terms of the deal”
Minto says this statement is an insult to the victims of Israel’s massacres as the minister has failed to:
- Express any concern for the Palestinians killed by Israel since Israel ended the ceasefire (at least 436 killed – including 183 children as well as nearly 200 during the ‘ceasefire’)
- Condemn Israel for this industrial-scale carnage, which the International Court of Justice found more than a year ago to be a case of ‘plausible genocide’.
- Condemn Israel for ending the ceasefire (It was Israel alone which refused to begin negotiations on stage two of the ceasefire agreement which was to lead to a permanent Israeli ceasefire and withdrawal from all of Gaza.
- Condemn Israel for its blockade on food, water, fuel, electricity, and medical supplies getting into Gaza – a war crime by any measure of humanity
“Mr Peters talks about the ‘incomprehensible human suffering over the past year and half’ but there is no mystery about this suffering” John Minto says.
“It stems from a brutal miliary occupation declared illegal last year by the International Court of Justice.”
“Mr. Peters pretends this is a conflict between two equal sides. But there is no balance when one side is carrying out mass slaughter and the other is fighting for survival.”
“In 2014 the then Prime Minister John Key called-in the Israeli ambassador as a diplomatic rebuke. But this government has said and done nothing about any attack by Israel on any Palestinians in Gaza or the West Bank, nor the attacks or invasions of four other countries, in the past year and a half.”
“New Zealanders want sanctions on Israel for genocide but Mr Peters refuses to say anything, let alone impose any form of sanction at all. That is appeasement,” Minto says.
“If the Foreign Minister can’t, then there must be at least some MPs in the government coalition who have the conscience necessary to raise their voices.”
John Minto
Co National Chair
PSNA
John, can you explain why Hamas is still keeping Israeli hostages?
You will be waiting a long time for a reply .There is none so blind who do not want to see.
What Isreal is doing is barbaric ,what Hamas did was barbaric. The fault lies not with Jews or normal Palestinians but with their leaders.
Hamas need to release the hostages and Israel need to stop stealing land
Have to say I agree with a number of those points Trevor. I would argue there was a fair amount of barbarism prior to October. That event didn’t just happen and stealing land, as you point out, was surely fuelling and adding to intent.
Tom of course he can’t, he’s a professional protester and such believes
he is above explaining, he only complains.
Busy busy man is Minto.
He’s retired from his fulltime paid employment as a teacher so now has more time to devote to trying to change the world and good on him.
Tell me Bob what have you done to make the world a better place?
A tremendous amount Michal, but unlike John Minto l have no need to tell the world.
Tom can you assure us that if Hamas gave the hostages back that Israel would withdraw to its internationally agreed borders and let the Palestinians get on with life? We already know that Israel has killed about 30 of its people held hostage in their attacks on Gaza so it seems that you have more concern over their future than Netanyahu has. Try understanding all the evidence if you want to make a sensible comment.
You presumably also require assurance Gazans would cease their terror attacks on Israeli civilians were Israel to agree to your demands. Is there evidence that that would be so?
Captured zionist terrorists are not ‘hostages’, ‘Tom’ from ‘tel aviv’.
Yes Tom. Hamas, offered all hostages back in exchange for all Palestinian ‘hostages’. Israel refused this offer, many times now. So we have what we have. Israel, committing genocide on behalf of us, the West (because Israel wouldn’t be able to lift a finger without our say so, let alone our support). So Israel is simply bringing Western freedom and democracy to Palestine, if not the entire Middle East (bar our gulf state lackeys of course). And as long as Western freedom and democracy continues to look outwards then we Westerners can continue to live on relative peace…..
Hamas have never offered all the hostages back. And never will.
tom? Can you explain why israel is where israel is and doing what it’s doing while killing non israeli kids on their own homelands ? Take your time. No hurry. You might have misplaced the lies you will tell which might come in handy for your argument.
Can you explain why Israel holds several thousand Palestinians in detention without charge….
Of cousre the kidnapped are being used as barter chips and why wouldn’t they, Palestinians have suffered for long enough.
“New Zealanders want sanctions on Israel for genocide”
This is news to me and I suspect to many New Zealanders.
Ah, so you admit you aren’t a New Zealander. Zionist, no human wants you in our country.
Mohammed Khan – Not true…I am a born and breed NZer, and I do not want sanctions on Israel…
Likewise
Apartheid Israel should be sanctioned for its crimes against humanity what planet do you live on Sammy?
John – Why is Hamas still in Gaza?
@Nathan I’m not a supporter of Hamas but it’s the same reason you are still in your house on your land – it’s where you live.
joseph – Correct, but, they, Hamas, bring death to Gazans…time for Hamas to move on
Because human beings love the heroes who make zionists good zionists.
Mohammed Khan – Hamas are not Heroes…
Not solely, no. Anyone who removes zionists are heroes.
Mohammed Khan – Oh dear.
It is a legitimately elected government, find out about it.
Seeing as the criminal faction of TDB posters like to talk tough for Israel and sneer their disdain for principled people like John Minto ,,,,
Heres a photo of One of the 177 children that Israel murdered with a Usa bomb or missile when Netanyahu and Trump restarted the high explosive part of their Genocide on March 18th,,, not enough ‘shock & awe’ with their starvation of the Gaza ghetto for the war criminals
Eight-year-old Siwar was one of several members of the Jamasi family killed in an Israeli airstrike on their home in Gaza City on March 18, 2025. Photo courtesy of Jamasi family.
https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fcaa2c26c-cb26-480d-8534-28e55941e0ba_1016x1148.jpeg
Someone like James Brown would say ‘you can shove her death up your arse’
Someone like Nathan will pretend he’s sad ,,, but that Hamas killed her
someone like gaby will say ‘long live Israel’
someone like Im right will say ‘you’ve got to break some eggs’
all these Zionists will reference some Israeli lies to justify what is clearly evil ,,, https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/gaza-names-and-faces-children-killed-israels-latest-offensive
Human shields ? …. https://thecradle.co/articles/we-are-holding-slaves-israeli-soldier-reveals-systematic-use-of-palestinian-human-shields-in-gaza
https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/investigation-reveals-details-killing-elderly-palestinian-couple-used-human-shields …
The mongrel mob are boy scouts compared to the Zionist criminal enterprise ….
I’ll be sending this link (which contains the photo of the eight-year-old girl Siwar ) to my mp
https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/gaza-names-and-faces-children-killed-israels-latest-offensive
and remind them that opposing evil ,,, like the murder of these children , among 180 other kids ,,,and 89 Women ,,, and 32 elderly people ,,, all butchered in one night of Israeli/Usa work.
That opposing this is not fucking complicated at all ,,,,
*****************************************************************************
” I have frequently explained that when I sat in the International Court of Justice and heard Israel’s lawyers tell lie after lie to justify or excuse the Gaza genocide, I could feel I was palpably in the presence of evil.
At least in the Hague you could also feel and indeed observe that most people in the courtroom—including the majority of the judges—were repulsed by the evil. “…..
“Let us not forget that the large majority of citizens of the world, including majorities in many Western countries with pro-genocide leadership classes, are indeed repulsed by and reject the genocide”….
“I am hopeful that for an entire younger generation around the world, any notion that the United States are the “good guys” has now been destroyed.” https://mronline.org/2024/07/27/the-presence-of-evil/
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‘No one country is bigger than the world’ ,,,, boycott anything from the Usa ,,, the world is waking up to them and rightly starting to hate them en masse.
Let them know they ARE exceptional ,,,, exceptionally rank and rotten
https://julianmacfarlane.substack.com/p/americas-zombie-armies
Eight-year-old Siwar was one of several members of the Jamasi family killed in an Israeli airstrike on their home in Gaza City on March 18, 2025. Photo courtesy of Jamasi family.
Netanyahu has run U$$ policy in the Middle East since 9/11. Iraq was invaded and devastated for Israehell’s sake. Libya was destroyed for Israehell’s sake. Gaza and the Palestinians are destroyed and being destroyed with U$$ bombers and bombs for Israehell’s sake. U$$ reputation is in the shit can along with GB and the E.U. for Israehell’s sake led by the criminal Netanyahu. Israehell was behind Kennedy’s assassination and 9/11 blamed on non existent Arab terrorists.
And now for Israehell’s sake they want to GET Iran the last on the list? ” The war on terror ” actually The war of terror is for Israehell’s sake.
And now we have Peters over in Washington having wet dreams about Israehell for Israehell’s sake!! If Netanyahu was there he’d be bending over and touching his toes for Israehell’s sake!
Compare Peters’ response to a civilized nation like China, where the paramount leader and the minister of Foreign Affairs are not subject to Mossad’s sexual blackmail over videos they have of them with children.
https://www.palestinechronicle.com/china-urges-israel-to-renounce-obsession-with-force-in-gaza/
Doubt that Uighers think their genocide is being conducted by a”civilsed” China.
The political system is broken. Its primary purpose now, is to serve the interests of the privileged class whose money has now taken control of politics, worldwide. Our politicians are merely custodians of this broken system. And here we are yet again, appealing to our politicians to both act against their own personal interests and the interests of the system they safeguard and champion. Does this wanton genocide in Palestine and the reactions of our politicians and most politicians in the world to it, highlight the state of world politics today, highlight just how broken politics actually is! Well, if this horror show doesn’t wake us up to the state of the world today, then I am sure that nothing ever will.
Continually appealing to this broken system serves only this system itself…..perhaps this is the purpose of it!
Sadly it has served the privileged class for a very very long time.
Nathan, why does apartheid Israel still exist? It brings hate and misery to the indigenous Palestinians and its neighbours
Democratic Israel has a right to exist in its native land silly. There is no indigenous “Palestinians.”