New Zealand PM Says Israel’s Netanyahu Has ‘Lost the Plot’
(Reuters) - August 13 New Zealand's Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said on Wednesday that Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had "lost the plot" as the country considers whether to recognise a Palestinian state.
Luxon told reporters that the lack of humanitarian assistance, forced displacement, and annexation of Gaza were completely unacceptable, and that Netanyahu had gone far enough.
"I think he has lost the plot," said Luxon, who leads the centre-right coalition government. "What we are seeing overnight, the attack on Gaza City, is utterly, utterly unacceptable."
Earlier this week, Luxon stated that New Zealand was considering recognizing a Palestinian state. Australia, a close friend, announced on Monday that it will do so at a United Nations summit in September, joining Canada, the United Kingdom, and France.
The humanitarian crisis in Gaza has reached "unimaginable levels", Britain, Canada, Australia, and several of their European allies said on Tuesday, calling on Israel to allow unrestricted aid into the war-torn Palestinian enclave.
Israel has denied culpability for the widespread hunger in Gaza, accusing Hamas terrorists of stealing humanitarian shipments, which Hamas rejects.
A tiny group of protestors gathered outside the country's parliament buildings, beating pots and pans, before Wednesday's legislative session. According to local media outlet Stuff, demonstrators chanted,
"MPs grow a spine, recognise Palestine."
On Tuesday, Greens member Chloe Swarbrick was removed from parliament's debating chamber after refusing to apologize for implying that government politicians were cowardly for not backing a bill to "sanction Israel for its war crimes."
Swarbrick was forced to leave the debate chamber for the second time on Wednesday after refusing to apologize. When she refused to go, the government suspended her.
"Sixty-eight members of this House were accused of being spineless," House Speaker Gerry Brownlee stated. "There has never been a time when personal insults like that delivered inside a speech were accepted by this House, and I'm not going to start accepting it."
As Swarbrick exited, she yelled, "Free Palestine."