New Zealand PM says Netanyahu has 'lost the plot'
"What's happening in Gaza is utterly, utterly appalling," said Prime Minister Christopher Luxon.
"Netanyahu has gone way too far. I think he has lost the plot," added Luxon in unusually candid comments.
"He is not listening to the international community and that is unacceptable."
Mr. Netanyahu recently rolled out plans to take control of Gaza City and wipe out Hamas, insisting it was "the best way to end the war" despite growing calls to halt the bloodshed.
UN-backed experts have warned of widespread famine unfolding in the territory, where Israel has severely restricted the entry of humanitarian aid.
Israel has faced mounting criticism over the war, which was triggered by Palestinian militant group Hamas's October 2023 attack on Israel.
New Zealand on Monday hinted it could join the likes of Australia, Canada, France and Britain in recognising a Palestinian state.
"New Zealand has been clear for some time that our recognition of a Palestinian state is a matter of when, not if," Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters said.
"Cabinet will take a formal decision in September over whether New Zealand should recognise a state of Palestine at this juncture — and if so, when and how."
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
&w=3840&q=100)
Business Standard
an hour ago
- Business Standard
Israel set to expand settlements into West Bank to 'bury' Palestinian state
Israel plans to expand settlements into an area of the West Bank that would effectively bisect the enclave — a move its finance minister said 'buries the idea of a Palestinian state.' The expansion into the 3,000 acres known as E1 that run between Jerusalem and Ma'ale Adumim — long excluded from settlement plans — would amount to a major rebuke of growing Western calls to recognize Palestinian statehood. It comes as the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has authorized a large-scale increase in settlement building in the West Bank — widely considered a violation of international law — over the past year and plans to take over the Gaza Strip. 'Anyone in the world who tries to recognize a Palestinian state will get our answer on the ground,' said Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who also oversees settlements within Israel's Defense Ministry, according to a transcript of a speech he gave at E1. 'They'll talk about a Palestinian dream, and we'll keep building a Jewish reality.' 'After 20 years of hold-ups, pressure, election-eve promises and broken dreams — we stand here in Ma'ale Adumin and proclaim in a clear voice: the cork as been broken, the E1 project is under way,' said Smotrich, an ultranationalist settler who in June was sanctioned by the UK for inciting violence against Palestinian communities. He said 3,401 homes would be built there. The West Bank-based administration of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas condemned the announcement. Along with the devastation in Gaza and recurrent violence by some settlers against Palestinians, it 'will only lead to further escalation, tension and instability,' said Abbas spokesperson Nabil Abu Rudeineh. The US in June imposed sanctions on members of the PA 'for not complying with their commitments and undermining the prospects for peace,' a counter-action to moves from European countries toward recognizing a Palestinian state. Alarmed by Israel's prosecution of the war in Gaza, which has killed over 61,000 Palestinians, according to the Hamas-run health ministry, several longtime Israeli allies — including France, the UK and Canada — are poised to recognize a Palestinian state during next month's United Nations General Assembly. Israel rules out Palestinian statehood and, backed by the US, has accused those countries of rewarding Hamas for the Oct. 7, 2023 attack that killed 1,200 Israelis and triggered the Gaza war. 'Bulldozers within days' Palestinians say any Israeli development of E1 would not only divide the West Bank but disrupt economic activity in and between their hub cities of Ramallah and Bethlehem. Peace Now, an Israeli anti-settlement group, described the development as a done deal, requiring only the approval of an Israeli planning committee next week. 'In theory, Netanyahu could overturn this. But I doubt Smotrich would have made the announcement without knowing Netanyahu was on-side,' said Peace Now's Hagit Ofran. 'So the bulldozers may be starting work within days.' There was no immediate comment from Netanyahu, a conservative who in 2009 approved negotiations over a Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza. Those US-sponsored talks stalled in 2014 and Netanyahu now opposes statehood — a position endorsed by the Israeli parliament last year. Last month, parliament called for the Netanyahu government to annex West Bank settlement blocks. Supporters of annexation say Israelis have a right to remain permanently in the West Bank, which they call by its biblical name of Judea and Samaria — the cradle of Jewish civilization. Previous US administrations joined other world powers in encouraging a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. US President Donald Trump has departed from that, however, and his ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, deems the settlements part of Israel. --With assistance from Fadwa Hodali.
Indian Express
an hour ago
- Indian Express
‘Be the president of peace', released Hamas hostages urge Donald Trump to end war in Gaza
Six former hostages of Hamas and the widow of another hostage executed by the militant group have urged US President Donald Trump to end the war in Gaza and secure the release of those still held in captivity. In a video posted on X by Bring Them Home Now, Naama Levy, Ohad Ben Ami, Doron Steinbrecher, Sasha Troufanov, Arbel Yehoud, Iair Horn and Michal Lobanov, the wife of Alexander Lubanov who was executed by Hamas, thanked Trump for facilitating the return of 39 hostages. 'President Trump, we want to thank you for bringing us home. We know it wasn't easy. Your leadership, and your courage, gave us back our lives and our families. We are here today – because you chose to act,' Levy, who spoke first, said in the video. 'President Trump, you have the power to change history, to be the 'president of peace' who ended the war and suffering, and brought all the hostages home,' Iair Horn, another released hostage, said. 'Every bullet, every strike, could be the one that ends their life,' another released hostage, Troufanov said, while urging Trump to secure the release of the remaining hostages. 'Every single one needs to come back home,' Yehoud, whose partner is still held in Gaza, said. 'You have the power to make history — to be the president of peace, who ended the war, ended the suffering, and brought every hostage home, including my little brother,' Horn, whose brother is one of the remaining hostages, said. 'He came back to me in a coffin,' Lobanov, whose husband was one of six hostages executed by Hamas last August, said. 'President Trump, please act now before it's too late for them, too,' she said. 'President Trump, you have the power to make history, to be the 'President of Peace' who ended the war, ended the suffering, and brought every hostage home.' Hamas captivity survivors, together with the wife of a hostage who was murdered in captivity, have released a powerful… — Bring Them Home Now (@bringhomenow) August 14, 2025 Earlier, on Tuesday, mothers of Israeli hostages held in Gaza, including one who appeared emaciated in a recent Hamas video, voiced fears that a planned Israeli offensive could further endanger their sons' lives due to the risk of reprisals. 'When I heard that our government intends to extend the war in Gaza, I as a mother am afraid, because we know that Hamas gives commands…to kill the hostages whenever (our military) is getting close to them,' said Viki Cohen, the mother of Nimrod Cohen, an Israeli soldier who is still being held captive in Gaza, said. Galia David, the mother of Evyatar David, the Israeli hostage who was seen in the recent Hamas video, also said she was 'really afraid'. 'We know from hostages who were released that there are hard stories, that they are even more evil with them when there is fighting,' she said.
News18
an hour ago
- News18
Israeli Settlement Plans Will 'bury' Idea Of Palestinian State, Minister Says Gaza War
Israeli far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich has said plans to build more than 3,000 homes in a controversial settlement project in the occupied West Bank will "bury the idea of a Palestinian state". News18 Mobile App -
