By Matthew Hooton on the NZ Herald (paywalled)…
The Prime Minister is said to be gung-ho about recognising a Palestinian state but has accepted Foreign Minister Winston Peters’ insistence on a proper process.
In the last months of the Key-English Government, Peters slammed then-Foreign Minister Murray McCully for acting without Cabinet authorisation in teaming up with Venezuela, Senegal and Malaysia to co-sponsor UN Resolution 2334, which condemned Israel for settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.
Any repeat by Christopher Luxon, Peters would argue, would be a breach of section 5.12 of the Cabinet Manual, which says ministers – including the Prime Minister – “must” submit to Cabinet any matters that involve any significant or controversial policy issues, including those concerning New Zealand’s international relationships, security and foreign policy.
Recognising a supposed state which is split in two, with one bit run by the corrupt Fatah movement and the other by the Iranian-backed terrorist group Hamas, surely meets those tests.
Read the full article (paywalled) on the NZ Herald HERE.
