The exploding-pager attack in Lebanon is yet another Israeli attempt to provoke a wider Middle East war.

It comes after several previous, highly-inflammatory Israeli actions aimed to do the same thing:

• The assassination of Hezbollah leader Fuad Shukr in Beirut
• The assassination of Hamas Leader Ismail Hanniyah who was negotiating a ceasefire agreement with Israel. The assassination took place in Iran in a flagrant breach of Iranian sovereignty
• The Israeli missile attack on the Iranian consulate in Syria which killed several top Iranian officials

The New Zealand government has previously urged all parties to refrain from actions that would escalate Israel’s war on Gaza into a wider Middle East war.

“With this latest attack our government must condemn Israel” says PSNA National Chair John Minto.

“Israel is an out-of-control rogue state which is an imminent danger to peace and security the world over”

“Many times the government has urged all sides to step back from a wider war but Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu is determined to expand death and destruction across the region”

“Netanyahu’s doing this to avoid the collapse of his far-right government and his looming trial on bribery and corruption charges.”

“Pious words from our Prime Minister will be ineffective. Condemnation and sanctions against this pariah state are long overdue”

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