Here, it is important to cite New Zealand’s foreign minister in relevant detail.
Winston Peters said at the United Nations General Assembly:
“We think a future generation when Israeli and Palestinian political leadership is an asset, not a liability, and where other situational variables have shifted the current calculus away from conflict and towards peace would be more conducive for recognising Palestinian statehood.
“There in lies our dilemma over any decision to recognise Palestinian Palestinian statehood now because statehood recognition is an instrument for peace as an instrument for peace also does not play because there are no fully legitimate and viable state of Palestine to recognise.
“Palestine does not fully meet the accepted criteria for a state as it does not fully control its own territory or population.
“There is also no obvious link between more of the international community recognised in the state of Palestine and the aimed objective of protecting the two-state solution.
“Indeed, what we have observed since partners pronouncements reveals that recognising Palestine now will likely prove counterproductive.
“That is, Hamas resisting negotiation in the belief that it is winning the global propaganda war while pushing Israel towards even more entrench military positions.
“Recognition at this time we also think is open to political manipulation by both Hamas and Israel. Hamas will seek to portray our recognition of Palestine as a victory as they have already done in response to partner announcements.
“Israel will claim the recognition toward rewards Hamas and that it removes pressure on them to release hostages and agree to a ceasefire,” Winston Peters said. (Ref. https://www.beehive.govt.nz/speech/new-zealand-national-statement-un-general-assembly-%E2%80%93-%E2%80%98leadership-global-affairs-united )
In essence, I argue, that Peters’ speech kicks the problem down the road. He shifts the responsibility for developing a solution to the Gaza atrocities conditionally on to a future generation of leaders. And it fails to acknowledge that at the current rate of mass killings of Palestinian people, there will be no one left to create nor nurture a future generation of Palestinian leadership.
But the statement nuances a shift in New Zealand’s position geopolitically and within the rules-based-order community of nations. The statement will confuse many observers of global politics, not the least among New Zealanders and peoples who sought asylum in New Zealand far from the paces of their birth.
Let’s consider why.
International Law.
The speech will trigger a cringe for millions of New Zealand citizens and permanent residents at realising how this right-leaning nationalistic three-party coalition government has abandoned and failed to reflect their strongly held positions for human rights principles.
It is human rights principles that have long anchored New Zealand as a strong and unshakable advocate for an international rules based order, for international humanitarian rights, for recourse to international law and justice, and signatories to the International Criminal Court and International Court of Justice.
It was this cumulative support for human rights and justice that compelled New Zealanders to reject the militant wing of Hamas for its atrocities against civilians in Israel on October 7, 2023.
But advocacy for human rights and justice is not a political expression. It isn’t tribal. It isn’t biased in favour of one peoples and not another. Advocacy for human rights and justice is universal and in this sense it is blind to the class or statehood where hate and atrocity originates from.
This is the same universal principle that the International Court of Justice applied when it found there was a prima facie case of genocide being committed by the state of Israel.
It is this same universal principle that the International Criminal Court applied when calling for the arrest of the state of Israel’s prime minister Netanyahu to be tried for crimes.
Peters’ speech to the United Nations General Assembly ignored these bodies and only waved a cursory glance at the ongoing murder of innocent children and peoples in Gaza, an apparent systematic act of mass murder, committed against people simply because they are of Palestinian birth. Peters’ speech failed these victims and rejected, by way of omission, their right to justice.
In a sense, this New Zealand coalition government has reflexively returned New Zealand back to that glitch-period where this nation fell estranged from the international common-good, in breach of the Gleneagles Agreement, and refused to cease engagement with Apartheid South Africa by allowing sporting contact with that murderous regime in 1981.
New Zealanders rejected that government in 1984, and today’s abandonment of New Zealand’s long held positions for rights and justice will certainly be a factor in the 2026 general elections.
Multilateralism is founded on rules and laws. Where rogue states abandon the principles that are universally agreed to by the majority, those nation states fail to advocate for the multilateral institutions that they rely on for social, judicial, and economic progress.
Peters, as the envoy for this current New Zealand coalition government cannot have it both ways. He cannot claim to be a voice for multilateralism and justice when he has delivered a decision that stands as contrary to the 81 percent of the United Nations general assembly nations who have announced and demand recognition for the State of Palestine.
Gaza and the occupied territories of the West Bank have recognised borders. Within those borders reside a peoples that reflect a common culture and a right to self-determination. They have a representative political structure that can engage itself in bilateral and multilateral forum and bodies. It cannot be ignored that it is being prevented from functioning as a state due to the atrocities that have been inflicted upon it by its occupiers.
It is the occupation that must be addressed, and the United Nations General Assembly, by way of a large majority, recognises this fact – ashamedly the New Zealand coalition government and Peters do not.
CANZ bloc and Like Minded Countries
In addition to New Zealand has long contributed to what is called the CANZ bloc at the United Nations.
The CANZ bloc is a group of nations consisting of Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. It has held together due to these nations sharing common values as ‘like minded countries’.
New Zealanders have long heard their representatives citing allegiance with ‘like minded countries’.
This too has been abandoned by New Zealand at a most important time for multilateralism, a time when supposed ‘like minded countries’ need to band together and present a solid powerful bloc on issues such as Palestine.
This is why Australia’s Prime Minister Anthony Albanese visited New Zealand on the weekend of August 9-10, 2025. Albanese sought the position of New Zealand’s current Prime Minister Christopher Luxon on whether New Zealand would recognise Palestine as a state in keeping with ‘like minded countries’ Australia, Canada, United Kingdom, and France. Luxon couldn’t give him an answer. And New Zealanders were left wondering why.
On this issue, New Zealand will have sent a signal to other nations that it cannot be relied on anymore as a true advocate of peace and justice while it fails to life up to its long-held reputation as an honest broker on the world stage standing up for peace, justice and multilateral progress.
This is a day of shame that has dawned in New Zealand. And millions in this multicultural Pacific nation will feel ashamed that their political representatives have failed not only them, but victims of atrocities all over the world.
Failed Opportunity to Advocate for UN Reform
Peters’ speech before the United Nations General Assembly, while acknowledging the UN needed reform, failed dismally to present a reformist plan that New Zealand would advocate for. It was a glaring omission from a once seasoned politician that made his bones on matters of principle and law.
Peters speech also failed to identify the mechanisms and protocols that exist within the United Nations at this current time; principles like the R2P or responsibility to protect protocols that were advanced after UN observers were prevented from protecting victims of Rwanda genocide decades ago.
The United Nations (UN) Responsibility to Protect (R2P) is a global political commitment adopted in 2005 by world leaders to prevent and respond to mass atrocity crimes – namely genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing, and crimes against humanity. It holds that state sovereignty entails a responsibility to protect populations within their borders; when a state manifestly fails to do so, the international community has a responsibility to act collectively and decisively, in accordance with the UN Charter.
All Peters and New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs officials needed to do is indulge themselves for a moment to reflect on this R2P protocol as published by the United Nations office on genocide prevention and the responsibility to protect. (Ref. https://www.un.org/en/genocide-prevention/responsibility-protect/about )
Put simply, within the UN charter there is the framework and mechanism for Peters, as a representative or a once principled nation, to cite and demand be applied to resolving the humanitarian crisis and murder taking place today in Gaza, and indeed in other parts of the world.
And it is this, that illustrates greatest the areas where reform of the United Nations is required and is at a critical juncture.
The United Nations was formed as a body to advocate and restore peace. For decades now, it has shifted its emphasis onto becoming a distributor of assistance and development. This is noble and it is vital in a complex world such as we live in. But it has become moribund where it comes to ensuring a mechanism or framework structured body where nations can cumulatively restore peace and prosperity to nations, peoples, and states that are victims of tyranny.
This is the kernel of need where reformist ideals are developed and implemented. And this was largely ignored by Peters and his coalition government colleagues.
As such, New Zealand faces headwinds. It may now be regarded by our once closest multilateral partners as an unreliable and immoral unjust state that waxes and wanes, dancing on the head of a pin on distorted legalese that offers more smoke and mirrors than principled solutions.
New Zealanders and Palestinian victims deserved to witness the very opposite of what was served up to them today. They deserved to witness a representative and true advocate for – particularly in the case of the Palestinian diaspora here in New Zealand and their dead and dying relatives back in the occupied territories and Gaza – rights to recourse as individuals and as survivors to universally applied justice.
But this current New Zealand government refused them. And as such it has sided with those nations that are a part of the problem manifest in Gaza, rather than being part of the solution.
Doing nothing is complicit.
Another feeble rant from a feeble government .After all the theatricals of the last couple of weeks Winston spouted the bull shit we knew was coming from the two feral parties .The weak as piss PM could not even stand up and promote himself to the position of leader of the country instead bending over again while Winston and David take turns to ream him .Typical CEO pass the buck and let the minions do the so called work but throw them under the bus if it goes tits up .Except in this case he is heading under the bus and will make way for another puss ball by years end .
Derogatory nonsense as always gw.
Derogatory nonsense as always gw.
A slight correction- Winston isn’t ‘ignoring’ the atrocities that zionists love to commit. He’s endorsing them.
Winston knows zionists poison Palestinian wells for the love of it. He loves it when they do it.
https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/2022-10-14/ty-article-magazine/.highlight/documents-confirm-israelis-poisoned-arab-wells-in-1948/00000183-d2b2-d8cc-afc7-fefed64d0000
Winston knows ‘israel’ is a haven for pedophiles and rapists. He knows they consider rape their highest value, and always have, from 1948 on. He gets off when they rape little Palestinian girls.
https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/2016-03-22/ty-article/.premium/israel-becoming-a-refuge-for-pedophiles/0000017f-e11d-df7c-a5ff-e37f5a370000
https://www.trtworld.com/article/18198981
https://www.aljazeera.com/amp/news/2024/8/9/everything-is-legitimate-israeli-leaders-defend-soldiers-accused-of-rape
Probably the stupidest piece of shit I have ever read on this blog. Your comment brings you shame.
You sound like a nonce.
You make it sound like its all about Winston. It’s not. Sure, he’s the minister but he’s just the front man, the guy in the suit. Surely the decision comes from a bit higher.
that just makes it worse. our Deputy PM’s are cucks and our PM is a sky-daddy rent-boy.
Why would NZ expect to worry about the human rights of the Palastinian people when our own human rights at home are below any thresh hold of being decent .From 1800 we have persecuted Maori daily and as the enquiry into abuse in care found we are no better than a rabid dog if we choose to be that way if we think no one is watching .
This COC is continuing to ramp up the persecution of Maori at every chance they can and stoop to invent a new reason every week .
So NO I am not surprised at all with Winstons show pony spout .The whole trip has been about Winston .
The actions of this so-called coalition government now renders them as Vile, Weak, Cowardly, Inept, Corrupt and Incompetent.
I do NOT RECOGNISE THE Coalition government here in NZ. They now have Blood on their Hands because of their link to America, Donald Trump and Israel.
They have turned their backs on humanity and it makes me think that if they(the CoC)have so easily turned their backs on others then what is stopping them from turning their backs on us here in NZ if it hasn’t already happened in some areas eg Health, Education, Social Welfare, Housing????!!!
Now lets remember the actions of this government on Election Day and ensure they will Never Ever be in Parliament or in Government Ever Again .
Winston is an ardent supporter of the apartheid state he always has been. This U-turn from our international norms is written in Project 2025 Heritage foundation. Winston has signed us up to this folly remember this framing by a famous war criminal “To be an enemy of the US can be dangerous to be an ally is fatal” Henry Kissinger
https://static.heritage.org/project2025/2025_MandateForLeadership_FULL.pdf
‘A future generation’, translated means:
‘We are cowards and are passing the buck.’
Cowards who took two weeks to announce what they had already decided. The pretence that the government was still considering it’s stance is typical of the usual weak Luxon leadership. Regardless of the decision, they could have at least had the courage to state it and own it once it was decided.
It takes courage to go against the trend. Winston made a lot of sense.
I am against Israel’s actions but also against Hamas and their reign of terror . Israel must be stopped from more settlements but an acknowledgement of Hamas will not do that.
‘It takes courage to go against the trend.’
As Chloe Swarbrick when she asked government MPs to grow a spine and Trevor moaned and grizzled about the little green upstart answering back to her betters.
‘ Hamas and their reign of terror’ Ah! Hamas -armed and supported by Israel to curb other Palestinian groups( bit like the way the British armed the Malay Communists to fight the Japanese and the USA armed the Taliban to fight the Soviets).
These attack dogs have a habit of turning on their owners so maybe it is time for colonisers to turn to negotiations.
Absolutely correct Trevor. Never been prouder of a NZ government than I am right now. You all wanted an independent foreign policy, well now you have one. Well done Winston and co.
I think it is a reasonable position to take regarding the “statehood” of Palestine
Who would we be recognizing? Currently
Hamas would seem to be in charge in Gaza and should we recognize their authority.
Where our foreign policy fails is in our refusal to totally condemn Israel and in our failure to take all the diplomatic and economic actions that we can against them
Hamas is the democratically elected government of Palestine. They have the right to rule in the ‘West Bank’, Gaza, and 1948 Palestine. They have the right to defend their people against zionist terrorists, and arrest home invaders trespassing on their land.
Why wouldn’t we recognise them a legitimately elected government – that does not compromise with Israel like the Palestinian authority does, no wonder the yanks and israel want them in charge.
Much worse than compromise- the PA are just puppets of the zionists. They target journalists and health workers just like their zionist masters.
https://electronicintifada.net/blogs/tamara-nassar/palestinian-authority-kills-its-own-people-proves-loyalty-israel
We should declare a national Day of Shame again like back in 91 with apartheid. What Winston did does not represent the majoririty of New Zealanders views
It certainly doesn’t just as he did not represent us when he voted against civil unions, same sex marriage, prostitution law reform and numerous other progressive bills.
Selwyn, you are much too kind to Winston Peters, and by extension to New Zealand. Peters has not kicked the can down the road. He has squarely aligned New Zealand with the Trump/Netanyahu axis. This is par for the course for the New Zealand state which supported every colonialist evil, from British rule in Africa, the invasion of Palestine and dispossession of its inhabitants, French colonisation of IndoChina, Indonesian conquest of Timor l’este, apartheid in South Africa, and the US invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan.
From its inception the Colony/Dominion/Realm of New Zealand has been an agent of evil. It was founded in genocide and it has gone on to either actively or tacitly support colonialist genocides around the world.
As Tim Selwyn puts it “New Zealand is a shabby colony of European settlers who grossly overrate their relevance and consequently has quite a shabby and pitiful international record – not the bright moral one the average smug New Zealander likes to think”.
The “average smug New Zealander” may not be the “average New Zealander”. More the average middle class European New Zealander, and to be fair, New Zealanders themselves never have been and never can be in control of the New Zealand state which is a colonialist construct which is anti-democratic to the core.
The problem is not with “the current New Zealand government”. It is with the Colony/Dominion/Realm of New Zealand as a whole and our only solution is to completely eradicate the colonialist regime.
Winston Peters is not “kicking the can down the road”. He is desperately trying to entrench the evils of a corrupt colonial regime. Neither can tangata motu afford to kick the can down the road. The Realm must be destroyed.
Sounds as if Peters lifted that from a Trump rant.
Foolish comment. Nothing like Trump
He is Trumps Maori cuzzy bro
At least you summarise what you are going to say before stating it.
Shackles speak louder than dead Palestinian children
Cowardly US arse kissing. That’s all it is. I don’t know if the South African government ended apartheid because of diplomatic isolation or because they finally came round to the idea that a long-term solution was necessary, but diplomatic isolation certainly can’t hurt.
It’s so typical of NAct to hitch themselves to the wrong side of history.
Here they’re choosing to suck harder on the USA tittie just as the failing US Empire is flailing about in impotent rage because the geopolitical power base is passing to China, BRICS and the South and there is nothing they can do to stop it..
The goddam truth of the matter: New Zealand is still USA’s bitch.
This government makes me ashamed for the nation.
Some history:Semite: a member of any of the peoples who speak or spoke a Semitic language, including in particular the Jews and Arabs. Khzars are not semitic.
The phrase has been captured by Israeli politics as an insult that rejects the actions of Israel and its Government.
In 1895, Theodor Herzl, the founder of the Zionist movement, asserted: “We shall try to spirit the penniless population across the border by procuring employment for it in the transit countries, while denying it any employment in our own country … expropriation and the removal of the poor must be carried out discreetly and circumspectly.”
1897 Palestine was 1 million people 5% Jewish. Peaceful co-existence.
1916 when the UK and Germany were about to call the war off Zionists told the UK to pause and allow Jewry to change US opinion and get the USA into the war and overcome Germany which they did. That resulted in the Balfour Declaration: (1917) …National home for Jewish people … nothing shall be done which may prejudice the civil and religious rights of existing non-Jewish communities … Brought into the war the US help overcame the Germans.
Britain given League of Nations mandate to develop Palestine as a National home.
The WW I saw Britain occupying Palestine from the Ottoman Empire, where it set up Mandatory Palestine under the auspices of the League of Nations.
Grenades in cafes: first used by Zionists against Palestinians in Jerusalem on 17th March 1937. Delayed-action, electrically timed mines in crowded marketplaces: first used by Zionists against Palestinians in Haifa on 6th July 1938.
WW II saw the holocaust when 3 to 4 millions Jews killed by the fascist German military along with others. The figure of 6 million is an exaggeration.
1946 Zionist terrorists blew up the King David Hotel. Then used a postal bomb on UK War Office. Use of hostages as a means of putting pressure on a government: first used by the Zionists against the British in Tel Aviv on 18th June 1946. Booby-trapped suitcases: first used by the Zionists against the British Embassy in Rome on 13th October 1946. Booby-trapped cars in civilian areas: first used by the Zionists against the British in Sarafand (east of Jaffa) on 5th December 1946.
Increased Jewish immigration led to inter-communal conflict between Jews and Palestinian Arabs, which escalated into a civil war in 1947 after a proposed partitioning by the United Nations was rejected by the Palestinians and other Arab nations.
March 1948 Deir Yassin massacre. Village in Palestine attacked by the Irgun and Lehi gangs killing and expelling Arab villagers, Was supported by the Haganah and Palmach. In 1949 the village was resettled by Israelis, becoming part of Givat Shaul.
Count Folke Bernadette (Swede) UN mediator… Assassinated Sept 1948 by Zionist group Lehi.
1954 Lavon Affair in Egypt. False-flag bombing operation in Cairo by zionists got caught. Israeli Minister Lavon had to carry the can. The first aircraft hijacking was carried out by Israel in 1954 against a Syrian civilian airliner.
Operation Plumbat was an Israeli covert operation in 1968 to steal yellowcake (processed uranium ore) to support the Israeli nuclear weapons effort. Mossed operation used fake business to buy ship ‘Scheersberg A’ to transport yellowcake ostensibly to Genoa as a catalyst. Transhipped mid Mediterranean to Israeli ship allowing the U to go to Dimona for a Nuclear bomb construction.
In 1973, suspected Mossad operative Dan Ert (Dan Ærbel) was arrested in Norway, alleged to have helped assassinate Ahmed Bouchikhi, a waiter, mistaken for one of the Palestinian terrorists who had killed eleven Israeli athletes at the 1972 Olympic games in Munich. Ert recounted the story whilst imprisoned as a way of proving to Norwegians that he was a Mossad operative.
The story seemed more credible once it was found that Ert had been listed as president of the Liberian shipping company used to purchase Scheersberg A.
An embargo prevented Israel taking delivery of gunboats built in Cherberg France. Operatives from Israel stole the gunboats and took off for Israel. The Scheersberg A was used to resupply fuel to the gunboats to get them to Israel.
June 1967 Six day war. USS Liberty spying destroyer in international waters bombed and shot by Israeli MIGs killing 34 US sailors. Covered up by the USA.
March 2003 US peace activist Rachel Corrie was guarding a Palestine Doctors home from demolition. Crushed to death by IDF bulldozer.
There is continued removing Palestinians from their land and occupied and settlement buildings constructed .
2004; Mossed agents in NZ tried to get NZ passports using the identity of a man with cerebral palsy.
Zionists are liars, abusers, killers, racists, complainers, genocidal criminals.
They cannot be trusted in any way.
Exactly, which is why the two-state solution is a non-starter. All of historic Palestine must be returned to the Palestinians, and Israel either completely demolished, or dismantled and relocated to the USA, the only other country barbaric enough to house it.
Gosh that’s concise.
“We think a future generation when Israeli and Palestinian political leadership is an asset, not a liability…”
If this is the logic for not recognising Palestinian statehood, it must equally be a logic that requires the withdrawal of recognition of Israeli statehood. That would at least be an intellectually consistent position that one could respect, albeit one likely to cause a firestorm of reaction from the USA.
Winston is not aware of the full implications of what he is saying. Or perhaps he is – and the point here is to avoid any retaliation by the USA in the area of trade that may further weaken the NZ economy and doom Luxon’s failed “growth, growth, growth” fantasy to even further ignominy.
Winstone and the CoC want money from the zionist so they can get back in power at the next election. When we see who funds their campaign it’s people and groups that benefit directly from the CoCs policies. We need to get rid of them and as mentioned above ensure they never get back in power again. Winston is drunk.on power the old coot needs to go as does Mr sicko seemore and his motley lot need to go and the sooner the
better. They are kicking working class NZers ,Maori and women in the guts,selling us down the tiolet. If they get in sgain we will see maasive privatistion hence why board room want them in power they will be wanting our few remaining assets and government contracts for their businesses.
Just need to look at who is funding the Atlas group and Peters support base along with those who support National and you can understand why this pathetic immoral decision was made. Nothing to do with humanity, purely about money and fear of Trump.
Really worried about our democracy now. The degradation of our civil rights is speeding up. Look at the gerrymandering electoral reform, the retrospective law changing and the attacks on media and critics of the government. Shane Jones has said he is going full Trumpian, I would suggest he has willing allies in Key, Seymour, Peters, Goldsmith, Standford Bishop, van Velden Mitchell etc.
We know that the NZ First and ACT caucuses are total sychophants and will follow the leader like a dog sniffing out raw meat. Most of the Nats are like minded but are too scared to admit it just yet. I have seen it suggested that Standford is tempted to join ACT but will not do so until very close to election time so that she doesn’t have to resign and force a by election.
This would make a mockery of our so called democracy but would demonstrate the ethical values many of our parliamentarians hold.
Normalising genocide is complicity in genocide.
When the whole world is trying to distance themselves from the genocide in Gaza, Winston Peters is trying to normalise genocide.
Winston Peters needs to ask himself this question:
Why are all these countries, even some of the countries that are aiding Israel to commit this genocide, like the UK, trying to distance themselves from it?
They realise that a day of reckoning is surely coming.
They don’t want to be caught in that reckoning, they they all want to be able to do what Jim Bolger did.
Jim Bolger was a member of the Muldoon cabinent during that government’s complicity in supporting South African apartheid during the Springbok tour of New Zealand. Despite being a member of the Muldoon cabinet that ordered the full force of the state to crush protests aginst the sporting representatives of the arpartheid regime, Bolger later tried to claim that he was always against apartheid and in particular diplomatic and sporting links with that regime.
When that day of reckoning comes, as it surely will, world leaders will point to their recognition of the State of Palestine as proof that they weren’t fully complicit in helping Israel commit genocide.
Winston Peters and Christopher Luxon won’t even have that feeble excuse.
Winston, gold card care, how machiavellian, your age cowtow, to these what you know about our gold card.
Dont for get the west bank is also under attack by these Israeli criminals .So while we are all going on thinking the Palastinian state is just Gazza it is not and there are already 6 million refugees living else where in the world .
Winston used to be a steadier hand at foreign policy – but NZ is not presently led by enlightened men.
The subtext is that they are desperate and corrupt – “Cash us up, oh Sons of Israel” is what the coalition means – a more realistic strategy, it must be admitted, than following the raving lunacy of a Treasury that just precipitated Willis into crashing the economy. Just not very realistic – nor morally tenable.
The corrupt are always the last to do the right thing.
Today only one comment on the news regarding, the Government, slowly purchasing outside their present holding of Power shares, and a Pom, in the only place you will hear such back word, forward thinking, from a trade Union caring authority.
POWER, BACK TO THE PEOPLE, as it used to be, power ownership back again to our one owned power grids, the people.
Hamas, a alone cell of mind alterd by religious life and death passing. Are not all religious wash like that, life and death battle for their religious belief.
This Hamas, think all nut case washed nutters, no, their Masters, are among all other Muslim care lands, minority not ever are Hamas.
Like Capitalism, a wash religion that open holds those whoever dare walk on their power wealth, fuck up lives in other oppressive ways.
Got this new deel world changing agree, hamas, we will turn not only Gaza into the las Vegas Isreil.
Don’t despair Donald is here.
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