Ashley Church: The real obstacle to a Palestinian State

Why have the peace talks always failed?

At the end of the First World War, the League of Nations gave Britain sovereign control over some of the Middle Eastern territory that had formed part of the defeated Ottoman Empire in the expectation that the Brits would resolve longstanding territorial and political issues between the various peoples who lived in this region.

Roger Partridge: The Discipline of Consequential Foreign Policy

Why Winston Peters Said No

New Zealand’s Foreign Minister Winston Peters did something unusual at the UN General Assembly last week: he chose discipline over gesture.


While Australia, the UK, and Canada announced recognition of Palestinian statehood with the solemnity of nations doing Important Things, Peters told the General Assembly that New Zealand would not follow. Not because we oppose a Palestinian state – we explicitly support it – but because recognition now “would serve as little more than an existential act of defiance against an unalterable state of affairs.”

Peter Dunne: Bolstering the ego of the Foreign Minister

While Ireland's President Michael D Higgins calls for Israel’s expulsion from the United Nations for what he describes as its "lies" over its treatment of Palestinians in Gaza, New Zealand continues to dither over joining the 157 (out of 193) United Nations members that have already given diplomatic recognition to a Palestinian state.