President Biden — if you feel like pretending Biden is still serving as President and still making the decisions in the White House — has pledged to support Israel against any retaliations for its recent assassination spree in Iran and Lebanon which killed high-profile officials from Hamas and Hezbollah.

A White House statement asserts that Biden spoke with Benjamin Netanyahu yesterday and “reaffirmed his commitment to Israel’s security against all threats from Iran, including its proxy terrorist groups Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Houthis,” and “discussed efforts to support Israel’s defence against threats, including against ballistic missiles and drones, to include new defensive US military deployments.”

Hilariously, the statement also claims that “the President stressed the importance of ongoing efforts to de-escalate broader tensions in the region.”

The Palestinian Authority has called the opening of Papua New Guinea’s Israeli embassy in Jerusalem an “aggression” and a “violation” of international law.

In a statement, Palestine’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates termed the embassy opening as “an aggression against the Palestinian people and their rights” and “a blatant violation of international law and United Nations resolutions”.

On Tuesday, PNG Prime Minister James Marape inaugurated the embassy in West Jerusalem, becoming only the fifth country to set up a diplomatic mission in the city.

• READ MORE: Palestine slams Papua New Guinea’s embassy in Jerusalem as ‘aggresion’
• Papua New Guinea opens Israel embassy in West Jerusalem
• Citing ‘God of Israel,’ PNG becomes 5th nation to open Jerusalem embassy
• Israeli govt to subsidise PNG embassy rental

In 2018, the US moved its embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem in a move that was followed by Honduras, Guatemala and Kosovo.

The Palestinian ministry said it would use all political, diplomatic and legal means to “pursue these countries over their unjustified aggression against the Palestinian people and their rights.”

The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation and Jordan have also condemned the move.

Religion behind the move
According to the Times of Israel, Marape was explicit that the opening of the embassy was down to religious motivations.

The country opened its embassy “because of our shared heritage, acknowledging the creator God, the Yahweh God of Israel, the Yahweh God of Isaac and Abraham,” the newspaper quoted Marape as saying.

“You have been the great custodian of the moral values that were passed for humanity,” Marape told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who attended the ceremony opening.

“Many nations choose not to open their embassies in Jerusalem but we made the conscious choice. This has been the universal capital of the nation and people of Israel.

For us to call ourselves Christians, paying respect to God will not be complete without recognising that Jerusalem is the universal capital of the people and nation of Israel.”

Marape also asked Israel to open an embassy in Port Moresby, and offered to provide the land for the mission.

Earlier this week, it was revealed that Israel would bankroll the embassy.

This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

The last fortnight has seen a series of brutal, deliberately provocative Israeli attacks on Palestinian worshippers at Al Aqsa Mosque in occupied East Jerusalem during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

Needless to say, Israel had no business interfering in Muslim worship at Al Aqsa, the third holiest shrine for Muslims after Mecca and Medina, and an area which is not under their authority or control.

Despite this, Israeli attacks on Al Aqsa have intensified in recent years as the apartheid state strives to undermine all aspects of Palestinian life in Jerusalem. It is applying ethnic cleansing in slow motion.

• READ MORE: Al-Aqsa raid: How BBC coverage is enabling Israeli violence
• Other Palestine reports

Inevitably missile attacks on Israel from Gaza and Southern Lebanon followed and Israel has reveled in once again trying to portray itself to the world as the victim.

There is an excellent 10-minute video in which former Palestinian spokesperson Hanan Ashrawi more than held her own against a hostile BBC interviewer here.

WATCH | A masterclass by @DrHananAshrawi illuminating the everyday violence & aggression Palestinians endure at the hands of Israel’s occupation, the inevitable local resistance to it & Israel’s ongoing impunity while also fending off @BBCWorld‘s spurious line of questioning. pic.twitter.com/eTpvXV7QbI

— Palestine Deep Dive (@PDeepdive) April 6, 2023

There is also an excellent podcast produced by Al Jazeera which backgrounds the increase in violence in the Middle East.

Inside Story: What triggered the spike in violence?   Video: Al Jazeera

Nour Odeh – Political analyst and former spokeswoman for the Palestinian National Authority.

Uri Dromi – Founder and president of the Jerusalem Press Club and a former spokesman for the Israel government.

Francesca Albanese – United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Occupied Palestinian Territories.

Further background on the politics around Al Aqsa is covered in this Al Jazeera podcast.

I strongly condemn Israel’s excessive use of force against Palestinian Muslims praying at #AlAqsaMosque during Ramadan, & its breaches of the #StatusQuo. This recklessness risks bringing further devastation to both sides of the Green Line.
Full statement: https://t.co/ys58j0bIzt https://t.co/mWfJiHSVaT

— Francesca Albanese, UN Special Rapporteur oPt (@FranceskAlbs) April 6, 2023

Initially reporting here in New Zealand was reasonable and clearly identified Israel as the brutal racist aggressors attacking Palestinian civilians at worship. However, within a couple of days media reporting deteriorated dramatically with the “normal” appalling reporting taking over — painting Palestinians as terrorists and Israel as simply enforcing “law and order”.

At the heart of appalling reporting for a long time has been the BBC which slavishly and consistently screws the scrum in Israel’s favour. The BBC does not report on the Middle East – it propagandises for Israel.

Journalist Jonathan Cook describes how the BBC coverage is enabling Israeli violence and UN Special Rapporteur on the Palestinian Territories, Francesca Albanese, called out the BBC’s awful reporting in a tweet.

Renewed violence against Palestinian worshippers at #AlAqsaMosque on yet another Ramadan turned into suffering,must be condemned,investigated & accounted for.

Misleading media coverage contributes to enabling Israel’s unchecked occupation & must also be condemned/accounted for https://t.co/JI6YzNgCju

— Francesca Albanese, UN Special Rapporteur oPt (@FranceskAlbs) April 5, 2023

It’s not just the BBC of course. For example The New York Times has been called out for deliberately distorting the news to blame Palestinians for Al Aqsa mosque crisis.

It’s not reporting — it’s propaganda!

Why is BBC important for Aotearoa New Zealand?
Unfortunately, here in Aotearoa New Zealand our media frequently and uncritically uses BBC reports to inform New Zealanders on the Middle East.

Radio New Zealand and Television New Zealand, our state broadcasters, are the worst offenders.

For example here are two BBC stories carried by RNZ this past week here and here. They cover the deaths of three Jewish women in a terrorist attack in the occupied West Bank.

The media should report such killings but there is no context given for the illegal Jewish-only settlements at the heart in the occupied West Bank, Israel’s military occupation across all Palestine, the daily ritual humiliation and debasement of Palestinians or its racist apartheid policies towards Palestinians — or as Israeli human rights groups B’Tselem describes it “A regime of Jewish supremacy from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea: This is apartheid”.

Neither are there Palestinian voices in the above reports — they are typically absent from most Middle East reporting, or at best muted, compared to extensive quoting from racist Israeli leaders.

The BBC is happy to report the “what?” but not the “why?”

Needless to say neither Radio New Zealand, nor TVNZ, has provided any such sympathetic coverage for the many dozens of Palestinians killed by Israel this year — including at least 16 Palestinian children. To the BBC, RNZ and TVNZ, murdered Palestinian children are simply statistics.

RNZ and TVNZ say they cannot ensure to cover all the complexities of the Middle East in every story and that people get a balanced view over time from their regular reporting.

This is not true. Their reliance on so much systematically-biased BBC reporting, and other sources which are often not much better, tells a different story.

For example, references to Israel as an apartheid state — something attested to by every credible human rights groups, such as Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch — are always absent from any RNZ or TVNZ reporting and yet this is critical to help people understand what is going on in Palestine.

Neither are there significant references to international law or United Nations resolutions — the tools which provide for a Middle East peace based on justice — the only peace possible.

Unlike their reporting on the Russian invasion of Ukraine, RNZ and TVNZ reporting on the Middle East leaves people confused and ready to blame both sides equally for the murder and mayhem unleashed by Israel on Palestinians and Palestinian resistance to the Israeli military occupation and all that entails.

John Minto is a political activist and commentator, and spokesperson for Palestine Solidarity Network Aotearoa. This article is republished from the PSNA newsletter with the author’s permission.

There was plenty of condemnation of New Zealand’s illegal occupation of Parliament in the media at first — but this week some media painted a much more palatable picture of the protesters and their motivation.

However, those who track the far-right and the media channels they use warn that ignores and obscures the protest’s dark undercurrents.

When the convoy converged on Parliament last week, Newshub vox-popped Wellingtonians who called the protest “ridiculous and disruptive”.

Offshore, Al Jazeera’s headline quoted residents who called the protesters “‘stupid’ and ‘selfish’”.

Many in the media were at pains to point out the protesters were not just a minority, but a mere fraction of the anti-vax element.

There was also sympathy for the police being confronted by angry and aggressive crowds — and public anger about children being there, even through a record-breaking wet southerly blast and the Speaker’s sprinkler stunt last weekend.

Media highlighted unpleasant conditions
And as the occupation dragged on, media highlighted increasingly unpleasant conditions underfoot.

“The [police] superintendent described the situation as squalor,” TVNZ’s 1News viewers were told last Monday.

“He said there’s faeces on the ground and children are playing in the mud.”

That amplified calls for the convoy crowd to stop blocking the streets — and the drains.

But Newstalk ZB’s political editor Barry Soper told listeners the poo problem was a fiction.

“There’s no faeces anywhere. They’ve got portaloos down there,” he said.

Soper went on to tell ZB’s Drive host Heather du Plessis-Allan the protesters were not as bad as they had been painted.

“They’re Kiwis. A lot of them have been mandated out of their jobs,” Soper said.

‘Do they have a point?’
“Do they have a point?” du Plessis-Allan asked rhetorically.

“Yes they have a point. They insist this is an anti-mandate protest and reporters on the ground say this appears to be the case. Now don’t confuse anti-mandate with anti-vax,” she warned listeners.

In fact, many reporters on the ground stressed that vaccine misinformation seemed near-universal among the occupiers — and amplification of irrational rhetoric, nooses, calls to “hang em high” and Nuremberg imagery were plain to see.

On the same ZB show soon after, NZME head of business Fran O’Sullivan said it was time to engage with them — even though there were no publicly-acknowledged leaders or mainstream political backers at that point.

“Not all people on that lawn are crazy. There’s a lot of people who are pretty ordinary folk who for one or another reason find themselves out of jobs,” she said.

Several commentators declared they were impressed by the pop-up infrustructure and support for what had earlier been described in the media as a leaderless and random occupation.

ZB’s Mike Hosking told listeners of his show the convoy deserved credit.

“I admire people who want to give up a lot of time and travel and hunker down and presumably get some sort of sense of personal accomplishment,” he said.

‘Too many nutters’
That’s quite a shift from the previous Friday, when Hosking dismissed the occupation as a waste of time with “too many nutters, and too many angry people”.

“Didn’t work. Protests make a point — but this one just pissed everyone off,” he said.

Back in 2019, he condemned those occupying Ihumātao as time-wasters too.

“Is it time in lieu you think they’re taking or annual leave they’re taking?” he said.

Politics lecturer and pundit Dr Bryce Edwards told ZB aggression at the protest had evaporated. He described protesters as merely “eccentric”.

The same day Edwards also told RNZ’s Morning Report the protesters had been unfairly smeared as “far right” — even though far right material and broadcasts were still clearly present at the protest.

“Bryce is quite wrong to gloss over the far right influence,” countered another commentator on Morning Report, academic Morgan Godfery.

Known far-right figures were among the first setting up and attending fresh occupation protests in Christchurch.

Watching their channels
Byron C Clark, who researches New Zealand’s far-right and conspiracy theory scene, told Mediawatch that reporters and commentators declaring the protest peaceful and reasonable were ignoring some of its dark undercurrents.

“If you want a full picture, you need to be engaging with people on the ground but also be in the social media channels and watch their own media,” he said.

Extreme and sometimes violent messages are still being posted on apps like Telegram, and media channels like Counterspin, he said.

“They are talking to people who are saying different things to what they say to mainstream media journalists.”

TVNZ’s Cushla Norman also confronted Counterspin frontman Kelvyn Alp orchestrating the coverage outside Parliament last week. In a story that aired on 1News on Thursday TVNZ’s Kristin Hall found messages in stark conflict with the peaceful vibe many of the protesters were projecting publicly.

Protesters have been asking me all week for “evidence” of volatility towards the Wellington public so here it is. https://t.co/mhJNcXlMrF

— Kristin Hall (@kristinhallNZ) February 19, 2022

“The Nuremburg 2.0 trials have started, why is no one reporting on that? You know, that’s the crimes against humanity and treason,” one protester told her.

Hall also pointed to Counterspin’s Kelvyn Alp telling ACT leader David Seymour he was “lucky they haven’t strung [him] up from the nearest bloody lamppost” after offering to mediate.

Common alt-right messages
Clark said those kinds of messages were common in parts of the movement.

“It’s not the case that everyone at the protest is a committed member of the alt-right movement, but it’s certainly the case that the alt-right has a presence in this movement and is trying to influence the direction it takes,” he said.

‘“On Telegram we’ve got people calling for trials and executions of politicians. On Counterspin Media, the hosts are telling people to read the Protocols of the Elders of Zion. To not report on that almost seems like part of that disinformation at this point in time.”

Many protesters identified as liberal or progressive, while being increasingly influenced by extreme content, Clark said.

“You might be skeptical of vaccines for left-wing reasons. You might be distrustful of the pharmaceutical industry. Then when you go into these anti-vax groups online, you’re going to be experiencing conversations about other conspiracy theories, and people will be saying, ‘yes, the media is lying to you, not just about this but also about these other things’.”

“You’re going to be influenced by a lot of these ideas and even if you continue to call yourself a liberal or left-wing, if you’re going to these protests that are shaped by the far-right, are you part of a far-right movement without realising it? I think that’s the case with a lot of the protesters,” he said.

‘Research these fringe elements’
Clark said the convoy was the culmination of years of activity on social media channels like Telegram, where thousands of people were still being radicalised.

He urged reporters to follow his lead and infiltrate those channels, so at the least they are not surprised when another movement emerges.

“I think some of our newsrooms should be putting more resources into researching these groups. Researching these fringe elements. Because we should know after Christchurch in 2019, it doesn’t mean it’s not going to burst out into the real world,” he said.

“These thousands of people have all been chatting to each other on Telegram for months if not years — so this wasn’t something that nobody saw coming. But it’s something the media is struggling to come to terms with,” Clark told Mediawatch.

Almost 30 community leaders of New Zealand’s capital Wellington have banded together to urge an immediate end of the illegal protest activities at Parliament.

Among those who have signed the joint statement are the region’s mayors, MPs, principals and business leaders.

The letter says Wellingtonians and city workers have been “intimidated” by protesters, and some residents have reported being “too distressed and frightened to leave their homes”.

• READ MORE: Covid-19 update: 1929 new community cases reported in New Zealand today
• Anti-media sentiment among NZ protesters big concern, say experts
• Other NZ covid-19 outbreak reports

A number of businesses have had to close to protect staff.

The community leaders say the people of Wellington have had enough of this illegal anti-mandates activity and it is time for the harassment and disruption to end.

Record 1929 new community cases
The Ministry of Health today reported a record 1929 new community cases of covid-19 in New Zealand.

In a statement, the ministry said 1384 of the new cases were in the Auckland district health boards (DHBs), with the remaining cases in Northland (13), Waikato (155), Bay of Plenty (58), Lakes (9), Hawke’s Bay (17), MidCentral (3), Whanganui (11), Taranaki (9), Tairāwhiti (8), Wairarapa (5), Capital and Coast (28), Hutt Valley (50), Nelson Marlborough (60), Canterbury (35), South Canterbury (7) and Southern (77).

There are 73 people in hospital with the coronavirus, with one in ICU. Seven of the cases are in Waikato Hospital, with others in Auckland, Rotorua, Tauranga, Wellington, Tairawhiti and MidCentral hospitals.

The previous record of 1573 new community cases was reported yesterday, 1140 of them in Auckland.

There were also 18 cases reported at the border today.

There have now been 26,544 cases of covid-19 in New Zealand since the pandemic began.

‘Resolution opportunity’ passed over
Meanwhile, former New Conservative leader Leighton Baker said politicians had had an opportunity to resolve the Parliament protest eight days ago.

“They never did anything and the longer they leave it, the bigger it gets. The responsibility is on their shoulders to talk to the people.

“You’ve got to talk to the people. The ball’s in their court.”

Baker describes himself as an “intermediary” — not a protest leader.

As the protest continues, Wellington transport operator Metlink is receiving more reports of people not wearing masks on its trains and busses.

It said its frontline workers were not expected to risk their own health and safety by enforcing mask wearing.

Wellington City Council has increased security around the city after a spike in verbal abuse and aggression against members of the public.

Increasing incidents of aggression
The council said retail workers had reported increasing incidents of maskless customers and of people becoming aggressive when asked to put a mask on.

Close to the protest site, the owner of a cafe and catering business on Molesworth Street says patronage is well below normal because customers can not park nearby and cafe regulars are all working from home.

The Word of Mouth Cafe and Catering owner said while it had remained open since the protest began, staff were working reduced hours and some had taken leave because there was no work for them to do.

No-one had been rude and tried to enter without a mask or vaccine passport, but the presence of protesters was greatly affecting her customer base, the owner said.

Suppliers were also reluctant to come in, with some who used to come every day now reducing that to every second or third day.

The full letter:
“We the undersigned ask that the current illegal protest activities in and around the Parliament precinct end immediately. There is a right to peaceful protest in New Zealand that it is important to uphold. However, this protest has gone well beyond that point.

“Those who live, work and go to school and university have been subjected to significant levels of abuse and harassment when attempting to move about in the area. There has been intimidation to Wellingtonians and city workers, and some residents have reported being too frightened or distressed to leave their homes.

“The vehicles associated with the protest are illegally blocking roads that are preventing Wellingtonians moving freely, including using public transport, posing a risk to the movement of emergency services, and are severely disrupting businesses. A number of businesses have had to close to protect their staff, while for others customers cannot access these businesses. The [Victoria] University has needed to close its Pipitea campus, disrupting teaching and learning.

“Police have issued trespass notices for those on Parliamentary and university grounds. We remind the protesters this city and these streets are those of Wellingtonians who have the right to access them freely and without fear.

“The people of Wellington have had enough of this illegal activity, harassment and disruption, we ask that it end immediately.”

Alex Beijen — South Wairarapa Mayor

Andy Foster — Wellington City Mayor

Anita Baker — Porirua City Mayor

Barbara McKerrow — Wellington City Council CEO

Bernadette Murfitt — Principal Sacred Heart School Thorndon

Campbell Barry — Hutt City Mayor

Daran Ponter — on behalf of Metlink

Fleur Fitzsimons — Wellington City Councillor

Grant Guildford — Vice-Chancellor, Victoria University of Wellington

Grant Robertson — MP for Wellington Central [and deputy Prime Minister]

Greg Lang — Carterton District Mayor

James Shaw — Green List MP based in Wellington

Jenny Condie — Wellington City Councillor

John Allen — CEO Wellington NZ

Julia Davidson — Principal, Wellington Girls College

K. Gurunathan — Kapiti District Mayor

Kerry Davies — Secretary of the Public Service Association

Laurie Foon — Wellington City Councillor

Lyn Patterson — Masterton District Mayor

Murray Edridge — Wellington City Missioner

Nicola Young — Wellington City Councillor

Paul Retimanu — director of Manaaki Management and president of Hospitality Wellington, New Zealand

Rebecca Matthews — Wellington City Councillor

Sarah Free — Wellington City Deputy Mayor

Simon Arcus — Wellington Chamber of Commerce CEO

Tamatha Paul — Wellington City Councillor

Teri O’Neill — Wellington City Councillor

Wayne Guppy — Upper Hutt City Mayor

This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

Rising tensions between Australia and China have raised the question of where New Zealand would stand if things escalate further.

Close trans-Tasman friend and ally Australia is taking a more aggressive stance against China – with South China Sea and Taiwan potential flashpoints.

And recent statements from its defence minister about a possible conflict with China have caused some alarm – a prospect that could put New Zealand under real pressure – to pick a side.

• READ MORE: Parliament’s human rights vote ‘gross interference’, says China

After a year of heavy trade strikes against Australian exports, diplomatic outbursts and increasing military activity in the region, new Australian Defence Minister Peter Dutton told the ABC conflict with China over Taiwan “should not be discounted”.

New Zealand Minister of Foreign Affairs Nanaia Mahuta said she could not comment on “prospective thinking about what may or may not happen”, adding New Zealand “values” the important relationship with Australia.

It did “make for an uncomfortable situation” to have Australia and China at loggerheads and “where you see your neighbours being treated in such a punitive way”, she said.

Australia was in a different position to New Zealand and “obviously see things in a certain way, because they have neighbours and are in a part of the region where they feel several things more acutely and we will remain closely connected in the way that we share our view of what’s happening in our region”, Mahuta said.

‘Nimble, respectful and consistent’
If it came down to taking sides – what would New Zealand do?

“New Zealand is very aware that we are a small country in the Pacific,” Mahuta said.

“And we are also aware that the nature of our relationships, both bilateral and multilateral, require us to be nimble, respectful, consistent and predictable in the way that we treat our nearest neighbours, but also those who we have bilateral relationships with, no matter whether they are big or small relationships.”

Leading defence analyst Dr Paul Buchanan said storm clouds were gathering and armed conflict was now a “distinct possibility”.

“Maybe not directly between the Australians and the Chinese, unless there’s a miscalculation involving a Australian warship, doing freedom of navigation exercises in the South China Sea,” Dr Buchanan said.

“But more than likely, as part of a dispute that gets out of control and Australia, as part of a coalition of countries, probably led by the United States, that is duty bound to respond, so for example, Taiwan.”

If such a conflict erupted, that would leave New Zealand “between a rock and hard place” because it would be asked to join that coalition, Dr Buchanan said.

That would require some “hard decisions … that have been in the making for well over a decade when we decided to throw most of our trade ships into the Chinese market”.

“Now we’re in on the horns of a dilemma and a bit of a quandary should our security partners ask us to join them in the common defence of a country suffering from Chinese aggression,” he said.

This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.