Prime Minister Christopher Luxon in Laos. Photo / Pool.
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon in Laos. Photo / Pool.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu doesn’t appear to be listening to other world leaders as they call for de-escalation in the Middle East, Christopher Luxon says.
The Prime Minister made those comments while in Laos for the upcoming East Asia Summit, a forum where the conflict in the Middle East is expected to be raised. It already has come up on the sidelines, including at a meeting between Luxon and his Australian and Canadian counterparts on Thursday.
Ahead of that, the Herald asked Luxon what he had made of recent actions by Israel – which has escalated its campaign against Hezbollah in Lebanon – and if he believed it was taking note of calls of de-escalation, including from himself.
Luxon said the New Zealand Government was “deeply concerned” about the risk of “catastrophic impact on innocent citizens” should conflict in the region continue to escalate.
“That is why we are asking for restraint, de-escalation and it’s not going to be solved by more military action,” he said.
“When we’re seeing innocent civilians being impacted in the way that they are, we need parties to get back around the table and actually negotiate a ceasefire in Gaza and to actually make sure we don’t see contagion out to Iran and out to Lebanon.”
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon speaks to reporters in Laos. Photo / Jamie Ensor.
Calls for de-escalation in the region have come from across the globe, including France, the United Nations, and the United Kingdom.
Asked by the Herald whether he thought Netanyahu was listening to other global leaders, Luxon responded: “Well, it doesn’t seem like it”.
“We’re trying to make the call to say, ‘Look, you’ve got to exercise restraint, and that the loss of innocent civilian life is unacceptable.’”
It came as Israel sent thousands more troops into Lebanon in an offensive against the Iranian-backed terrorist group Hezbollah, which has in recent days been launching missiles towards Israel.
In a video address aimed at the Lebanese people, Netanyahu told them they had the “opportunity to save” their country “before it falls into the abyss of a long war that will lead to destruction and suffering like we see in Gaza”. He said they needed to free their country from Hezbollah.
A US State Department official responded to that: “There should be no kind of military action in Lebanon that looks anything like Gaza and leaves a result anything like Gaza.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the 79th Session of the United Nations General Assembly at the United Nations. Photo / AFP
Israel has also threatened to retaliate strongly against an attack by Iran last week. The Israeli Defence Minister has been quoted as saying the response will be “deadly, precise and above all surprising”.
The trio of countries have previously taken a strong stance on Israel, expressing grave concerns in February about the nation’s plans for a ground offensive in the Gazan city of Rafah and telling Israel in July to listen to concerns in the international community about its actions.
In opening remarks at the meeting, which took place at a burger cafe in Vientiane, all three leaders raised the situation in the Middle East. Luxon said they would “amplify” their positions on the Middle East.
Trudeau: “We are like-minded and pushing for de-escalation of the violence, protection of civilians and humanitarian aid ... and also all of us committed to a path to a two-state solution which requires a lot of work that we’re continuing to do.”
Albanese: “We together have issued statements reflecting those common values which are there, calling for de-escalation, calling for the return of hostage, expressing our abhorrence at the terrorist acts of October 7, and also talking about the need to move towards a two-state solution and to have a region which represents the opportunity for peace and security and prosperity for the citizens in the Middle East, whether they be Israeli, Palestinian, Lebanese.”
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, and New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon in Laos. Photo / Pool.
This week marked a year since Hamas’ incursion into Israel, its killing of more than 1100 innocent civilians and its taking of hundreds of hostages. Israel has responded with a consistent barrage of strikes against Gaza over the past year and a bombardment of Lebanon.
“New Zealand unequivocally condemns Iran’s attack on Israel overnight,” Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters said.
“This is the kind of escalation New Zealand and partners have been warning against. Civilians throughout the Middle East are already enduring intolerable suffering through continued conflict. We urge all parties to step down from further retaliatory action. Maximum restraint and diplomatic solutions are essential.”
Netanyahu spoke with US President Joe Biden on Thursday. The pair are reported to have spoken about Israel’s response to the Iranian strikes, which Biden reportedly said should be “proportional”. Biden wouldn’t support a strike on Iranian nuclear sites, he’s said.
Jamie Ensor is a political reporter in the NZ Herald Press Gallery team based at Parliament. He was previously a TV reporter and digital producer in the Newshub Press Gallery office.
