Another Member of PNG Parliament dies

 Papua New Guinea PRIME Minister James Marape has defended the country’s vote at the United Nations (UN) General Assembly against an “immediate, durable and sustainable humanitarian truce” between Israel and Hamas, saying “no reason justifies an act of terrorism”.

“Hamas triggered the current response from Israel,” he explained.

“And you cannot expect Israel to stop when the kidnapped victims have not been returned. When you talk about human rights, it applies to both sides.

“Not taking into consideration the underlying issues, the reference point of attacking innocent women and children, is an act of terrorism. And we condemn it. And we have no regret in condemning that act of terrorism.”

PNG was one of the 14 countries which voted against the call for the truce, along with the United States and Israel. 120 countries voted in favour, while 45 abstained.

Marape said that the country’s vote was a qualified one, saying that the hostages must be returned.

“And maybe when that happens, our position might change and we will call for peace to return,” he said.

“We made those statements considering what happened and the need for Hamas to be responsible for what happened. On the other issues ongoing, there are places to resolve them.

“That’s why the UN is there so due processes can take their course.”

He said Hamas should do the right thing and return the kidnapped Israelis.

“Then I am sure the international community will rally around the call for Israel to stop the bombing. We have no regret in standing up for Israel. They were attacked, we have to support them,” he said.

Marape said that the country’s representative at the UN gave the nation’s statement.

TheNational/ONE PNG

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Another Member of PNG Parliament dies