Foreign Minister Murray McCully Urges Restraint In Israel/Palestine
By Alastair Thompson
At the request of Scoop NZ Foreign Minister Murray McCully today made the following statement about the situation in
Israel and Occupied Palestinian Territories.
"The recent killing of four young people in the West Bank and East Jerusalem is deplorable. Those responsible need to be
held to account.
"These acts should not distract each country’s political leadership : we want to see progress in the peace process
between the Israelis and the Palestinians.
"New Zealand urges both sides to show restraint in the aftermath of these incidents. "
Scoop's Gaza based correspondent Julie Webb-Pullman reports that Israeli armed forces have moved to the border of the
Gaza strip and foreigners in the city are being notified by their Governments to leave immediately.
Earlier today some rockets were fired into Israel from the Negev desert and the Gazans expect this will result in
further bombing of targets in Gaza City.
A spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs earlier made the following statement about the safety of NZers
present in the Gaza area.
"The current situation in Gaza is reflected in our travel advisory
(https://www.safetravel.govt.nz/israel-and-occupied-palestinian-territories) which states:
"There is extreme risk to your security in the occupied Palestinian territory of Gaza (including the waters off Gaza).
We advise against all travel due to the threat from kidnapping, acts of terrorism and retaliatory military operations.
"New Zealanders currently in Gaza are advised to depart as soon as it is safe to do so."
Scoop's Gaza correspondent Julie Webb-Pullman will be staying to cover the crisis as it unfolds on http://Gaza.scoop.ps.
ENDS