Te Pāti Māori demands Israeli ambassador ouster

Te Pāti Māori co-leaders Rawiri Waititi and Debbie Ngarewa-Packer are demanding the New Zealand Government expel the Israeli ambassador if Israel does not immediately implement a ceasefire and open safe humanitarian aid corridors for Gaza.

They condemn Hamas for murdering civilians and taking civilian hostages, but say retaliatory actions of the Israeli government including indiscriminate bombing of Gaza and destroying hospitals and civilian apartment buildings is unconscionable.

Targeting civilians is a breach of international law, as is collective punishment – there can be no justification for blocking civilian access to water, power and humanitarian aid.

Ms Ngarewa Packer says Western countries are wilfully in denial about the long term aggression by Israel against Palestine.

It has instituted an apartheid regime and blockaded Gaza by land, air and sea.

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