{"id":4260,"date":"2019-05-08T13:30:04","date_gmt":"2019-05-08T01:30:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/israelinstitute.nz\/?p=4260"},"modified":"2019-05-19T14:59:52","modified_gmt":"2019-05-19T02:59:52","slug":"the-cycle-of-violence-continues-and-new-zealand-remains-silent","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/israelinstitute.nz\/2019\/05\/the-cycle-of-violence-continues-and-new-zealand-remains-silent\/","title":{"rendered":"The “Cycle of Violence” continues and New Zealand remains silent"},"content":{"rendered":"
This weekend, more than\u00a0700 rockets were fired from Gaza<\/a>\u00a0into Israeli civilian areas.<\/p>\n It is only because Israel has developed the iron dome and invested in warning systems and bomb shelters that only 4 Israelis were murdered\u00a0<\/a>by this barrage. And because of the Palestinian terror groups’ lack of respect for life, a Palestinian\u00a0mother and child were killed by a rocket that fell short<\/a>\u00a0of the border. The IDF\u00a0targeted terror leaders and over 280 targets<\/a>\u00a0belonging to Palestinian Islamic Jihad and Hamas.<\/p>\n To some, this is a “cycle of violence” that needs to end and “both sides” must “show restraint”. Such a moral equivalence – between designated terror groups firing into civilian areas from behind their civilians and the IDF that\u00a0takes extraordinary measures to protect all civilian life<\/a>\u00a0– is morally devoid.<\/p>\n The media and politicians who focus on the loss of life and not the\u00a0genocidal intent of Hamas\u00a0<\/a>or the\u00a0acts of Palestinian Islamic Jihad<\/a>\u00a0and other terror groups (funded by Iran<\/a>) do not help peace; rather, it encourages the terror groups to hide among civilians to maximise collateral casualties should Israel attempt to defend herself.<\/p>\n It has been pleasing to see\u00a0leaders and representatives of many democratic countries clearly condemn the terror from Gaza<\/a>. And it is shameful that New Zealand Ministers and officials are silent, yet again. The last time a Minister clearly condemned terror against Israel was\u00a0Helen Clark in 2006 – she said<\/a>\u00a0“The message to Hamas and Hezbollah must be that confrontation and violence are destroying the prospects for a peace settlement in the Middle East.\u201d<\/p>\n The message to Hamas since then from the New Zealand government’s silence is “we don’t mind what you’re doing”.<\/p>\n That is as shameful as that\u00a0lack of any comment about New Zealand funding UNRWA – which has been shown to promote terror<\/a>\u00a0– and the lack of ministerial comment on the Pittsburgh terror attack in 2018. It was opposition MP,\u00a0Alfred Ngaro, who put forward a motion in the house <\/a>about Pittsburgh\u00a0and he is also the only MP to have\u00a0posted concern over the terror attacks against Israel on his social media<\/a>.<\/p>\n It is important to keep history in mind – and not only the history of the Holocaust and the importance of speaking up. Hamas took over the Gaza strip in\u00a02006 elections and a bloody 2007 coup<\/a>. This followed the complete (and unilateral)\u00a0withdrawal of Israeli soldiers and all Jews in 2005<\/a>. It was hoped that without Jews, the coastal area would flourish under Arab rule and\u00a0become the Singapore of the Middle East<\/a>. Instead, Hamas started attacking Israel and increased border security was required, including a naval blockade that\u00a0Sir Geoffrey Palmer reported to the UN<\/a>\u00a0was “…a legitimate security measure in order to prevent weapons from entering Gaza by sea…”.<\/p>\n