Locke Keith: Appropriation (2006/07 Estimates) Bill — Third Reading Imprest Supply Debate 
Locke Keith: Appropriation (2006/07 Estimates) Bill — Third Reading Imprest Supply Debate 
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KEITH LOCKE (Green) 
: 
 The people of New Zealand and people around the world have been sickened by what they see happening to Lebanon today. I think it is important for us as a small moral country that has stood up in favour of our nuclear-free policy against the United States in that respect and that has stood up for principle to cast its weight on the side of peace and ending the suffering that is happening today to the people of Lebanon and Israel and to the people in Gaza. We should follow the example of some other small countries that are about the same size as us like Norway that have made a special purpose of being peacemakers. Norway is engaged across the world in peacemaking. It has been engaged in the Middle East not always successfully but we should try to do that. 
If we speak out loudly and clearly to tell the truth about what is happening in Lebanon our voice will resonate around the world because it will be in contrast to many of the other powerful countries whose voices are somewhat muted—countries that are not really telling things as they are. Even worse of course the most powerful nation the United States through its Government is backing Israel’s murderous assault on the Lebanese people and refusing the calls for a ceasefire. Basically it is saying there will be no ceasefire until the whole of south Lebanon has been flattened and all its people evacuated—that is those who have not been killed or wounded in the meantime. 
We have seen on TV exactly what that assault means. In the town of Qana a couple of days ago we saw 54 people slaughtered—37 of them children—in an Israeli air raid. Just as shocking to me as that sad sight of babies being pulled out of the ruins was the shots of the town itself. I think it was a town of about 10000 or 20000 people originally. It seemed from the TV images that the whole town had been destroyed. People over generations had built up a livelihood in that town and now in a couple of weeks their town has been totally destroyed and they have been forced out. 
Of course there is talk from the Israeli authorities and the American authorities about there being “collateral damage” in war. But what we saw there was not collateral damage. I think New Zealand has to be at the forefront of the world in saying that what Israel is committing in Lebanon today are war crimes. People who commit war crimes will ultimately be brought before the World Court and convicted. That is what must happen to the leaders of Israel in the future. They must know that now. The whole point of setting up an International Criminal Court is to stop people doing what the Israeli Government is doing and to tell them that they will be brought to justice if they do. It is quite clear that war crimes is the appropriate term to use because in the Rome treaty which is part of our legislation—it is appended to our legislation setting up the International Criminal Court 4 years ago—war crimes are listed. One of the crimes listed in that document is “attacking or bombarding by whatever means towns villages dwellings or buildings which are undefended and which are not military objectives;”. 
 That is exactly what Israel is doing in south Lebanon east Lebanon and the southern suburbs of Beirut today. A second war crime in our legislation is: “Intentionally launching an attack in the knowledge that such an attack will cause incidental loss of life or injury to civilians … clearly excessive in relation to the concrete and direct overall military advantage anticipated;” which is exactly what Israel is doing in its widespread and extensive bombing in south Lebanon today. Of course Hezbollah is also guilty of war crimes under that definition by sending its rockets into towns like Haifa in Israel. But we have to state these facts. 
What the Israeli Government officials are saying is quite horrific. For instance Israeli army spokesperson Captain Jacob Dallal was quoted in the  
New Zealand Herald  
last week: “In the war on terror in general it’s not just about hitting an army base which they don’t have or a bunker. It is also about undermining their ability to operate … That ranges from incitement on television and radio … and … grass-roots institutions that breed more followers more terrorists …”. Grassroots institutions such as orphanages schools and aid centres are being bombed by the Israelis today as part of war and as a deliberate policy and that is a war crime. A headline in Saturday’s  
New Zealand Herald  
was: “You are ALL targets Israel says”. According to that article Israel’s Justice Minister Haim Ramon “warned that the area”—south Lebanon—“would now become effectively a free fire zone and anyone found in it would be regarded as a target and advocated bombing villages to make the advance of land forces easier. ‘These places are not villages.’ he said. ‘They are military bases in which Hizbollah are hiding and from which they are operating.’ ” Under that justification the whole of south Lebanon is being destroyed. We must say what it is—it is a war crime. 
We as a Government have to do a number of things—tell it like it is; call for an unconditional immediate ceasefire; join those nations that are calling for that; and join the UN leaders who are calling for a ceasefire in south Lebanon Gaza and the West Bank. They are telling Israel to stop all its attacks and of course telling the Palestinian forces and Hezbollah to stop their attacks as well. 
Thirdly we should be pushing for negotiations on the immediate and long-term issues in those conflicts in Lebanon Israel the West Bank and Gaza and engaging all the parties. This means we must accept Hezbollah and Hamas as parties to those negotiations. That is an essential thing that New Zealand should not flinch from pushing for. There cannot be a peace settlement unless all the parties to the conflict are engaged in that peace settlement. 
Fourthly it is good that Helen Clark has talked about New Zealand perhaps having a role in peacekeeping over there. We can help. Unfortunately the Israeli Government does not really seem to be interested in genuine peacekeeping. There has been for a long time a call from Palestinians for an international force to be put in the West Bank and Gaza. That has always been turned down by Israel. Israel seems to want a pliant so-called international force like the pliant South Lebanon Army which was a pro-Israeli force that occupied south Lebanon in the 1980s and 1990s and totally failed. A critical thing about peacekeeping is that any force that goes in to Lebanon must fully recognise the sovereignty of that State and not go in without Lebanon’s full agreement and cooperation. Not to do so is the road to disaster. 
It is not anti-Israeli to say the things I have been saying. A week ago on Saturday somewhere between 2500 and 5000 Israelis both Jewish and Arab marched through Tel Aviv calling for peace an end to the Israeli bombardment and an immediate ceasefire. It is very pro-Israeli to call for an immediate ceasefire. 
We have to take an approach to the conflict in the Middle East that respects all the ethnicities and cultures of that area. What we should do is relevant to the speech made by Don Brash on core values and bedrock values. He did not accept that all cultures have values that we must respect but that is what we must apply to the Middle East situation today.