Genesis

Did I hear right? Cos Murray has condemned the continued settlements by Israelis (which is wrong on so, so many levels), he has been vilified and has been told he is 'siding with the terrorists'??? WTF!!!??? The arrogance of the Israelis is incredible.

They should never have been given occupation in the 1st place. They have been terrorising the Palestinians for decades, murdering them, stealing their water and much more.

And our foreign minister has the balls to stand up to Israel and virtually all the other cowardly countries who would not sign this accord condemming what is akin to what the Nazis did to the Jews in the 2nd world war.

Good on you Murray. Someone needs to stick up for the Palestinians.

LoCarb

Israel have declared war on NZ...... and they have nukes (not sure if they would reach Auckland though).

Not to worry, we have over 100 LAVs

Justcol

Not sure why anyone should feel the need to stick up for the Palestinians, they are just as bad as the Israelis
The two deserve each other and neither will be happy until the other has been eradicated

Hmmm, not quite Mr Godwin !!

Robbie2010

Very true! The west has really shit on the Palestinians ... especially as the Arabs were promised In 1915/16 that if they supported Britain in the war, the British government would support the establishment of an independent Arab state in Palestine.

MrsFychan

I think both sides would think they are in the right.

We all know that the Politicians will side with any side that seems the best choice at the time and could in a bat of a eye lid change opinions.

As this subject could become quite feisty it may end up in the TIO forum, so please answer if you must with care.

Charismatic

Such is the neuanced nature of any discussion on the matter I'm not even sure if just one view is enough for me.

I'm very much a supporter of Israels right to exist and have some appreciation for both their historic and current domestic political situation but Israel must also play by the rules (both historic agreements such as the Balfour declaration and UN votes) and be compelled towards meaningful progress in a peace and reconcilliation process.

As for Netanyahus comments about a UN vote being an 'act of war' his comments are most unhelpful for Israel and makes me question this is really domestic political showboating at the expense of progress. We should not abide this regardless of the threats Israel or the next US administration may make.

Israel continues to be an key ally of ours and enjoys our support but our support is both conditional and commensurate in nature.

FlaviusAetius

As an ex-pat resident of the US, I am curious as to why NZ evidently felt compelled to co-sponsor Resolution 2334 with Senegal, Malaysia and Venezuela. NZ strikes me as an interested, but otherwise totally uninvolved, spectator in ME affairs. Perhaps I missed reports of New Zealand's impassioned support for the suffering of Yazidis and Christians in those lands. I have to believe that NZ's support of the Resolution was not based on left-wing ideologically-driven support for the Palestinians...or a disguised form of anti-semitism.

The problem with the Resolution is that it will undoubtedly end all negotiations between the Israelis and the Palestinians toward a two-state agreement.

The Palestinians will probably use the Resolution as the basis for lawsuits in the International Court of Justice and for the instigation of criminal process against Israeli leaders in the International Criminal Court in the Hague. Of course, the Palestinians will also use the Resolution to seek to isolate Israel by having as many nations as possible engage in boycotts, divestment and sanctions. It won't help their cause - in fact it may increase their suffering because Israel will probably become even more harsh in its occupation policies and there could be major bloodshed in Gaza.

None of the Palestinian tactics will induce Israel to compromise its security as it sees it, so in all likelihood nothing will change for the Palestinians unless someone the Israelis trust absolutely can help broker a deal between the two sides. It was evident that Obama never earned any trust whatsoever from Israel's leaders. Let's hope Trump can win their trust. If not, things will likely get much worse for both sides and especially for the Palestinians, since the Israelis can count on the Trump Administration to veto any and all further UN Security Council resolutions deemed anti-Israel. Politically, in the US, the result of the December 23 vote may be the loss to the Democrats of a major portion of their usual Jewish vote of around 70%.

LoCarb

Flavius:
"Justice is the legal or philosophical theory by which fairness is administered"

"NZ strikes me as an interested, but otherwise totally uninvolved, spectator in ME affairs."
Ditto the US......or should be.

Robbie2010

What negotiations?

Israel does not believe in a 2 state solution, it never has and never will!

It just keeps building on Palestinian land and keeps treating Gaza like a concentration camp!

Justcol

Can I ask why so many are even bothering to show concern for this

There are so many more issues in the world that require far more urgent attention
than pandering to either the Jews or the Palestinians over a peace process that will NEVER succeed

Parnell

Sydney is the capital of NZ is it not?

Parnell

You might wish to understand the importance of this United Nations Action.


and what starts coming after it.


The reason they are so pissed off is the change is now coming.

Kotare

Given that probably 50% of the UN voting members are non democratic states with bad human rights records I doubt that any UN ruling on anything has any impact.

Robbie2010

Bearing in mind that Israel has ignored/violated well over 60 UN resolutions in the past I don't see change coming any time soon!

Justcol

Israel have proved time and time again, they don't give a toss about anything the UN says or does. The poor Palestinians, while constantly playing the victim in this sad shambles, are just as bad. There is no change about to happen,

So I would ask again