Insipid call for a tea break before the slaughter of Palestinian civilians continues – Palestine Solidarity Network Aotearoa
The government announcement today at the United Nations calling for a “humanitarian pause” in the Israeli war on Gaza are an insipid response to the slaughter of Palestinians civilians in their thousands in Gaza.
“Is it the best New Zealand can do to call for a humanitarian pause in the slaughter of civilians by Israel?” says PSNA National Chair John Minto. “Already over five thousand Palestinian civilians have been killed, more than 2,000 of them children, and the best New Zealand can do is call for a tea break before Israel continues its slaughter?
“New Zealand is bigger and better than this week-kneed response from our political leaders.”
“We must call for a comprehensive ceasefire and United Nations action to put Gazan civilians under UN protection. We must also demand a swift investigation by the International Criminal Court into war crimes since 7 October – included the crimes of genocide and apartheid”.
A “humanitarian pause” will not stop the genocide. Israel President Isaac Herzog is on record using the type of genocidal rhetoric which is dominating Israeli actions:
“It is an entire nation out there that is responsible,” Herzog said at a press conference on Friday. “It is not true this rhetoric about civilians not being aware, not involved. It’s absolutely not true. They could have risen up. They could have fought against that evil regime which took over Gaza in a coup d’etat.”
The cruel fact is that if there were 2.3 million Europeans anywhere in the world being confined and subject to indiscriminate slaughter New Zealand and the western world would be outraged. But not a peep from our leaders condemning Israeli war crimes when Palestinians are the victims. We only find our voice when Israelis are the victims.
“It is an entire nation out there that is responsible,” Herzog said at a press conference on Friday. “It is not true this rhetoric about civilians not being aware, not involved. It’s absolutely not true. They could have risen up. They could have fought …”
That statement is true of the people of every nation, whether ostensibly democratic or not, including Israel and including New Zealand.
Frankly, I think Herzog is right in a general sense. Angry statements, demonstrations of outrage and chants of “not in my name” will change nothing when Israel, backed by the US and New Zealand, is committed to the strategic objective of removing all Palestinians from the Gaza strip and turning it into a “paradise”. Once Gaza has become a paradise, the West Bank will be next.
If you don’t want to be complicit in the works of Anglo-American imperialism, then dissociate yourself from the Realm of New Zealand. There is no other way.