You are aware that Hezbollah has been firing thousands of rockets, incendiaries and missiles into Israel for the past nine months? Doesn't that constitute a declaration of war?
With Tehran's Islamist regime providing the weapons and training for terrorism and death throughout the region perhaps we should be focusing on neutralising that cancer.
"Every one of the troubles affecting Israel at present originate in Iran. It is the Revolutionary Islamic government there that has made the eradication of Israel a priority. It is Iran that is ensuring that Israel is fighting a war on – effectively – seven fronts. Not just against Hamas in Gaza or Hezbollah in Iran but against the Iranian-backed Houthis in Yemen among many others.
After the October 7 attacks – again funded and backed by Iran – the regime in Tehran looked on with satisfaction as the world turned not on Hamas but on Israel. The regime delighted in the useful idiots and others in the West turning against Israel rather than on the terrorists of Hamas. The Supreme Leader – Ayatollah Khamenei – even expressed his public gratitude and support for students at American universities who were bringing their institutions to a halt as a protest against Israel’s right to defend itself."
Completely agree David. NZ shows double standards. Compare the NZ response to Israel and the Ukraine. Israel is defending and fighting for their homeland. They are also defending the rest of the western world and until the “woke” research the history of Israel and find the real news in the Middle East (not the NZ false narrative) the general public here will never understand and will keep repeating the request for a ceasefire and free “Palestine”. There was a ceasefire in place on 6 October. Israel is fighting for its existence on 7 fronts. What would NZ do if it was attacked by a neighbour. The neighbour killed 3,000 NZ people in one day and took 350 people hostage? If the NZ response would be the same response to the massacre on 7 October in Israel - where would we be? Until the hostages are released and Hamas are obliterated, and the children in Gaza are educated not to hate and kill Jews - nothing will change the response from Israel. The Hamas charter states it will kill all the Jews in Israel, then all the Jews globally.
Gaza attacked Israel brutally. There is no doubt about that. Civilians were murdered, hundreds of them, by Hamas thugs. The wider question is NZ’s interests. The Government is wise to focus on the Asia-Pacific region.
I have no doubt that Peters who has thrown his own people under the bus would be the last person we need to represent peace. The best way to end the genocide is to boycott Israel, send the Ambassador of genocide home to the evil system of his State of Occupation. Children extinguished, hospitals gutted, limbs strewn. Journalists targeted and gunned down to stop this truth getting out. But the truth can’t die. Free free Palestine. Liberation. End the Nakba.
You will never solve anything in the middle east. Thousands of years of hate, thousands of years of persecution, thousands of years of mistrust, thousands of years of history being written by the victors.
The area is the home of the Jewish people just as it is the home for Palestinians so it will never be fixed and you seem to be ignoring the genocide committed by Hamas which started the current conflict. Rapes, murders of babies.........is that OK by you?
We should stay out of it....too many nutters on both sides.
Mate, you need to read some basic history on how jews, muslims and christians got along fine in Palestine for hundreds of years. Maybe read the latest International Court of Justice declaratory ruling on Israel as an occupying power and apartheid state.
While the flaring up of animosity can be traced to the rise of the radical/political/fundamentalist Muslim Brotherhood, and it's offshoots, it's not new.
The Prophet's call for the murder and oppression of non believers is over 1400 years; the almost complete elimination of the the Middle Eastern and North African Budhists, Christians and Jews and Zoroastrians etc. to Islamic persecution and genocide is testament top that.
I am well aware of the peaceful times, but there have also been many more periods of instability in the relationships, most of which have festered for decades and all in the name of religion. The whole area is littered with evidence of conflict for more than 2000 years.
The sad part of the conflict today is that people are being bought up to hate someone because of their religion and I do not see any chance of that changing in my lifetime.
I'm not disagreeing with the ICJ, but I also respect the right of Israel to defend itself, however Israels actions over since 1949 have often fallen on the wrong side of my morals....
To the people who think babies were killed by hamas, there is no evidence of that though Destiny Church seems to be the only remaining voice assuring you there were. More than 16,000 children have been killed by Israel and another 21,000 are missing. I do not sanction violence. Israeli soldiers have raped their own female colleagues, see that evidence in 2014. This last week ten IDF soldiers have been charged with the rape of a Palestinian detainee. He was so severely injured he could not walk.
"IDF soldiers have been charged with the rape of a Palestinian detainee"
How many Hamas rapists, murderers and torturers have been charged for the atrocities they committed? Less than none - they've been lauded and celebrated.
The same thing has happened in the NZDF, the US, the UK and many other armed forces but I am sure it suits your narrative to highlight the IDF for unacceptable behaviour.
I'm sure that wherever you choose to read your information from is indemnifying Hamas actions and thats your choice. I don't believe either side wholly and the truth is no doubt somewhere in the middle.
Can’t see the middle when the massacre is one-sided. Nethanyahu refused to deal with any other Palestinian representative and funded the rise of Hamas.
So that will mean where you choose to get your information is one sided.
As for legitimising a terrorist organization who has openly stated their goal is the extermination of the Jewish state, you would need rocks in your head to trust any organisation with that as a goal. May as well let the foxes in the hen house.
I’m an investigative journalist who has won Qantas and Media Peace Awards and I researched this for decades, both sides. But when one side has a propaganda machine fueled by the US I call it.
The best thing that NZ government could do would be to recognise Palestine and establish diplomatic relations, forthwith.
Though their current position on this matter (Beehive statement 11 May 2024) may sound 'fair' and impartial, it is in reality a waffling show of fence-sitting intended primarily to please the US state department, as is also evident from the deployment to the Red Sea,
But to recognise and establish a working relationship with Palestine would be much more impactful and meaningful in terms of NZ's stated values,
“The final death toll from the attack is now thought to be 695 Israeli civilians, including 36 children, as well as 373 security forces and 71 foreigners, giving a total of 1,139.”
To the people who think babies were killed by hamas, there is no evidence of that though Destiny Church seems to be the only remaining voice assuring you there were. More than 16,000 children have been killed by Israel and another 21,000 are missing. I do not sanction violence. Israeli soldiers have raped their own female colleagues, see that evidence in 2014. This last week ten IDF soldiers have been charged with the rape of a Palestinian detainee. He was so severely injured he could not walk.
More journalists have been killed by Israel in Gaza than in the whole of WW2. Health workers, parents, scientists, poets. This is extermination and the only comparison is Hitler. It is never Ok, and before you accuse me of anti-semitism, my whakapapa is Jewish.
PS there is no evidence hezbollah committed the majdal shams attack. Quite the reverse. Is Not Real repeatedly lies and had much to gain whereas hezbollah an upfront militant group had nothing to gain from killing kids. South Africa under apartheid and former Rhodesia used the same strategies Nethanyahu and his fascist cronies are employing. This massacre served Israel, not Palestinians.
What are you suggesting Saige? It was an Iranian missile that came from Southern Lebanon where Hezbollah are massed, same as all the others. I don't believe Hezbollah were specifically targeting those kids playing football; their constant barrage of rockets and missiles are quite indiscriminate. I don't think this is part of the terrorist's propaganda war either; a war that looks to have been quite successful among the naïve fools and useful idiots in the west.
Absolutely there is no independent investigation that establishes what happened at Majdal Shams. Currently we have a claim by Israel, and Hezbollah denying it was involved.
Thousands of rockets and missiles fired into Israel by Hezbollah: that's us. The one that took out all those kids: not us.
"Weapons experts told The Associated Press that evidence points to a rocket from Lebanon hitting the field. But they raised the possibility that the hit on civilians was an accident. [of course. Firing rockets at towns and villages people might get hurt "by accident"]
The Israeli military’s Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi said an Iranian-made Falaq rocket with a 53-kilogram (117-pound) warhead belonging to Hezbollah was used in the attack that landed in the town of over 11,000 inhabitants.
Israel released images of rocket fragments it said the military found, with visible lettering that matched pictures of Falaq rockets also provided by the military."
Israel has long, long track record of lying about such things. Hence the need for an independent and proper investigation. Do you ever wonder why Israel as a matter of course denies access for independent investigations and refuses to cooperate with same?
Is it only "escalation" when Israel responds?
You are aware that Hezbollah has been firing thousands of rockets, incendiaries and missiles into Israel for the past nine months? Doesn't that constitute a declaration of war?
With Tehran's Islamist regime providing the weapons and training for terrorism and death throughout the region perhaps we should be focusing on neutralising that cancer.
"Every one of the troubles affecting Israel at present originate in Iran. It is the Revolutionary Islamic government there that has made the eradication of Israel a priority. It is Iran that is ensuring that Israel is fighting a war on – effectively – seven fronts. Not just against Hamas in Gaza or Hezbollah in Iran but against the Iranian-backed Houthis in Yemen among many others.
After the October 7 attacks – again funded and backed by Iran – the regime in Tehran looked on with satisfaction as the world turned not on Hamas but on Israel. The regime delighted in the useful idiots and others in the West turning against Israel rather than on the terrorists of Hamas. The Supreme Leader – Ayatollah Khamenei – even expressed his public gratitude and support for students at American universities who were bringing their institutions to a halt as a protest against Israel’s right to defend itself."
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2024/08/01/israel-has-shown-it-can-still-hit-back/
Completely agree David. NZ shows double standards. Compare the NZ response to Israel and the Ukraine. Israel is defending and fighting for their homeland. They are also defending the rest of the western world and until the “woke” research the history of Israel and find the real news in the Middle East (not the NZ false narrative) the general public here will never understand and will keep repeating the request for a ceasefire and free “Palestine”. There was a ceasefire in place on 6 October. Israel is fighting for its existence on 7 fronts. What would NZ do if it was attacked by a neighbour. The neighbour killed 3,000 NZ people in one day and took 350 people hostage? If the NZ response would be the same response to the massacre on 7 October in Israel - where would we be? Until the hostages are released and Hamas are obliterated, and the children in Gaza are educated not to hate and kill Jews - nothing will change the response from Israel. The Hamas charter states it will kill all the Jews in Israel, then all the Jews globally.
Gaza attacked Israel brutally. There is no doubt about that. Civilians were murdered, hundreds of them, by Hamas thugs. The wider question is NZ’s interests. The Government is wise to focus on the Asia-Pacific region.
I have no doubt that Peters who has thrown his own people under the bus would be the last person we need to represent peace. The best way to end the genocide is to boycott Israel, send the Ambassador of genocide home to the evil system of his State of Occupation. Children extinguished, hospitals gutted, limbs strewn. Journalists targeted and gunned down to stop this truth getting out. But the truth can’t die. Free free Palestine. Liberation. End the Nakba.
No. Completely disagree with you!
You will never solve anything in the middle east. Thousands of years of hate, thousands of years of persecution, thousands of years of mistrust, thousands of years of history being written by the victors.
The area is the home of the Jewish people just as it is the home for Palestinians so it will never be fixed and you seem to be ignoring the genocide committed by Hamas which started the current conflict. Rapes, murders of babies.........is that OK by you?
We should stay out of it....too many nutters on both sides.
Mate, you need to read some basic history on how jews, muslims and christians got along fine in Palestine for hundreds of years. Maybe read the latest International Court of Justice declaratory ruling on Israel as an occupying power and apartheid state.
While the flaring up of animosity can be traced to the rise of the radical/political/fundamentalist Muslim Brotherhood, and it's offshoots, it's not new.
The Prophet's call for the murder and oppression of non believers is over 1400 years; the almost complete elimination of the the Middle Eastern and North African Budhists, Christians and Jews and Zoroastrians etc. to Islamic persecution and genocide is testament top that.
I am well aware of the peaceful times, but there have also been many more periods of instability in the relationships, most of which have festered for decades and all in the name of religion. The whole area is littered with evidence of conflict for more than 2000 years.
The sad part of the conflict today is that people are being bought up to hate someone because of their religion and I do not see any chance of that changing in my lifetime.
I'm not disagreeing with the ICJ, but I also respect the right of Israel to defend itself, however Israels actions over since 1949 have often fallen on the wrong side of my morals....
To the people who think babies were killed by hamas, there is no evidence of that though Destiny Church seems to be the only remaining voice assuring you there were. More than 16,000 children have been killed by Israel and another 21,000 are missing. I do not sanction violence. Israeli soldiers have raped their own female colleagues, see that evidence in 2014. This last week ten IDF soldiers have been charged with the rape of a Palestinian detainee. He was so severely injured he could not walk.
"IDF soldiers have been charged with the rape of a Palestinian detainee"
How many Hamas rapists, murderers and torturers have been charged for the atrocities they committed? Less than none - they've been lauded and celebrated.
The same thing has happened in the NZDF, the US, the UK and many other armed forces but I am sure it suits your narrative to highlight the IDF for unacceptable behaviour.
I'm sure that wherever you choose to read your information from is indemnifying Hamas actions and thats your choice. I don't believe either side wholly and the truth is no doubt somewhere in the middle.
Can’t see the middle when the massacre is one-sided. Nethanyahu refused to deal with any other Palestinian representative and funded the rise of Hamas.
So that will mean where you choose to get your information is one sided.
As for legitimising a terrorist organization who has openly stated their goal is the extermination of the Jewish state, you would need rocks in your head to trust any organisation with that as a goal. May as well let the foxes in the hen house.
I’m an investigative journalist who has won Qantas and Media Peace Awards and I researched this for decades, both sides. But when one side has a propaganda machine fueled by the US I call it.
When you say Peters has 'thrown his own people under the bus' are you referring to Maori?
The best thing that NZ government could do would be to recognise Palestine and establish diplomatic relations, forthwith.
Though their current position on this matter (Beehive statement 11 May 2024) may sound 'fair' and impartial, it is in reality a waffling show of fence-sitting intended primarily to please the US state department, as is also evident from the deployment to the Red Sea,
But to recognise and establish a working relationship with Palestine would be much more impactful and meaningful in terms of NZ's stated values,
“The final death toll from the attack is now thought to be 695 Israeli civilians, including 36 children, as well as 373 security forces and 71 foreigners, giving a total of 1,139.”
To the people who think babies were killed by hamas, there is no evidence of that though Destiny Church seems to be the only remaining voice assuring you there were. More than 16,000 children have been killed by Israel and another 21,000 are missing. I do not sanction violence. Israeli soldiers have raped their own female colleagues, see that evidence in 2014. This last week ten IDF soldiers have been charged with the rape of a Palestinian detainee. He was so severely injured he could not walk.
More journalists have been killed by Israel in Gaza than in the whole of WW2. Health workers, parents, scientists, poets. This is extermination and the only comparison is Hitler. It is never Ok, and before you accuse me of anti-semitism, my whakapapa is Jewish.
PS there is no evidence hezbollah committed the majdal shams attack. Quite the reverse. Is Not Real repeatedly lies and had much to gain whereas hezbollah an upfront militant group had nothing to gain from killing kids. South Africa under apartheid and former Rhodesia used the same strategies Nethanyahu and his fascist cronies are employing. This massacre served Israel, not Palestinians.
"no evidence"? "quite the reverse"?
What are you suggesting Saige? It was an Iranian missile that came from Southern Lebanon where Hezbollah are massed, same as all the others. I don't believe Hezbollah were specifically targeting those kids playing football; their constant barrage of rockets and missiles are quite indiscriminate. I don't think this is part of the terrorist's propaganda war either; a war that looks to have been quite successful among the naïve fools and useful idiots in the west.
Absolutely there is no independent investigation that establishes what happened at Majdal Shams. Currently we have a claim by Israel, and Hezbollah denying it was involved.
"Hezbollah denying it was involved."
Of course Andrew.
Thousands of rockets and missiles fired into Israel by Hezbollah: that's us. The one that took out all those kids: not us.
"Weapons experts told The Associated Press that evidence points to a rocket from Lebanon hitting the field. But they raised the possibility that the hit on civilians was an accident. [of course. Firing rockets at towns and villages people might get hurt "by accident"]
The Israeli military’s Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi said an Iranian-made Falaq rocket with a 53-kilogram (117-pound) warhead belonging to Hezbollah was used in the attack that landed in the town of over 11,000 inhabitants.
Israel released images of rocket fragments it said the military found, with visible lettering that matched pictures of Falaq rockets also provided by the military."
Israel has long, long track record of lying about such things. Hence the need for an independent and proper investigation. Do you ever wonder why Israel as a matter of course denies access for independent investigations and refuses to cooperate with same?
Like your thoughts on Qatar. That country might also help NZ by taking over our polluting airline. But yes, get in behind Qatar peace initiative