Israel Matzav: New Zealand lied?

Tuesday, September 09, 2014

New Zealand lied?

You will recall that on Monday I blogged a post by @BarakRavid that claimed that the last two New Zealand ambassadors to Turkey were listed on the embassy's website as having been credentialed to both Israel and the 'Palestinian Authority.' I questioned whether that was case based on Wikipedia.

It now turns out that according to the way back machine, the website of the New Zealand embassy in Turkey was changed sometime between August 8, 2014 and today to add that the ambassador was credentialed to the 'Palestinian Authority.' Previously, it had said he was credentialed to the 'occupied Palestinian territory.' This week was likely the first that Israel's foreign ministry heard of it.

I got this by email from Marty R.

According to archive.org, it does seem to be new.

May 26 and July 2, 2014: "Jordan, Israel and occupied Palestinian territory"

Feb 13, 2014 the website design changed, but it does not list PA, either on the main page or when you click on Israel:
    "Living in Turkey
    Living in Israel
    Living in Jordan"

Source: https://web.archive.org/web/*/http://www.nzembassy.com/turkey

I went back to October 1, 2013 and clicked on the "what the embassy does" link and it included 'occupied Palestinian territory.' So I sent an email to Marty R asking him to clarify when the reference to the 'Palestinian Authority' started. Here's his response:

Oh so this must be more recent, sometime b/w August 8 and today.

- August 8 archive.org: https://web.archive.org/web/20140808171125/http://www.nzembassy.com/turkey/about-the-embassy/what-the-embassy-does

"Occupied Palestinian territory" is how most define the area, and I should instead be looking for "Palestinian Authority".

According to google, it is only mentioned once, on main page: https://www.google.com/search?q="Palestinian+Authority"+site%3Ahttp%3A%2F%2Fwww.nzembassy.com%2Fturkey (when searching the site directly, it is also in "What the Embassy does", as you pointed out)

For main page:

Today, as you mentioned, it says "Authority": "Jordan, Israel, the Palestinian Authority, Georgia and Azerbaijan"

While at least up to Aug 8, it said "territory": "Jordan, Israel and occupied Palestinian territory".

Same thing Under What the Embassy does:

Today, "The New Zealand Ambassador to the Republic of Turkey is also accredited to the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, the State of Israel, the Palestinian Authority, Georgia and Azerbaijan."

While at least up to Aug 8, is said "The New Zealand Ambassador to the Republic of Turkey is also accredited to the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, the State of Israel, and the occupied Palestinian territory."

There may be other archiving websites besides archive.org (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Web_archiving_initiatives), if you want a more recent date than Aug 8. In any event, it seems recent enough. It used to be "Palestinian territory", which is how the area is categorized by I assume most countries, while they now deal with PA as if it is a country on its own.

Indeed. In the world of diplomacy, there is a world of difference between 'occupied Palestinian territory' and the 'Palestinian Authority.' One just clarifies that the ambassador is credentialed to Judea and Samaria (and Gaza?) without recognizing Israel's claim to it, while the other recognizes a different governing authority in that territory.

That makes the Foreign Ministry's reaction to Curr's presentation of his credentials far more understandable.

Labels: Avigdor Lieberman, diplomatic relations, New Zealand, Palestinian Authority