WELLINGTON, Aug 13 — New Zealand’s Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said today that Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu had “lost the plot”, as Wellington weighs whether to recognise Palestine’s statehood.
Luxon told reporters that the lack of humanitarian aid, the forceful displacement of people and the annexation of Gaza are utterly appalling, and that Netanyahu has gone way too far.
“I think he has lost the plot,” added Luxon, who heads the centre-right coalition government. “What we are seeing overnight, the attack on Gaza City, is utterly, utterly unacceptable.”
Luxon said earlier this week that New Zealand was considering whether to recognise a Palestinian state. Close ally Australia on Monday joined Canada, the United Kingdom and France in announcing it would do so, at a United Nations conference in September.
The humanitarian crisis in Gaza has reached “unimaginable levels”, the UK, Canada, Australia and several of their European allies said yesterday, calling on Israel to allow unrestricted aid into Palestine’s war-torn enclave.
Israel has denied responsibility for hunger spreading in Gaza, accusing Hamas militants of stealing aid shipments, which Hamas denies.
Ahead of today’s parliamentary session, a small number of protesters gathered outside the country’s Parliament buildings, beating pots and pans. Local media organisation Stuff reported protesters chanted “MPs grow a spine, recognise Palestine”.
Yesterday, Greens parliamentarian Chloe Swarbrick was removed from Parliament’s debating chamber after she refused to apologise for a comment insinuating government politicians were spineless for not supporting a bill to “sanction Israel for its war crimes”.
Swarbrick was ordered to leave the debating chamber for a second day today after she again refused to apologise. When she refused to leave, the government voted to suspend her.
“Sixty-eight members of this House were accused of being spineless,” House Speaker Gerry Brownlee said. “There has never been a time where personal insults like that delivered inside a speech were accepted by this House and I’m not going to start accepting it.”
As Swarbrick left, she called out “free Palestine”.
