A man in New Zealand was charged after smashing a window at the Auckland home of Foreign Minister Winston Peters with a crowbar and leaving a threatening note reading, “Welcome to the real world,” the minister’s spokesperson said on Tuesday.
The glass shattered over the foreign minister’s dog, who had been sleeping beneath the window, the spokesperson added.
The attack follows days of protests outside the minister’s home after he announced that New Zealand would not join Australia, Britain and Canada in recognizing a Palestinian state amid the ongoing Israel-Hamas war.
Speaking in Parliament on Tuesday, Peters condemned the violence, calling the targeting of private homes by protesters “a disgrace.”
“It has caused distress to our families and disturbed the peace of our neighbors,” he said. “Means such as these corrupt the protesters’ ends, such as they are.”
In a post on Monday on X, Peters wrote that he was not home at the time of the attack, but his partner and a guest were present.
“This is truly gutless,” he said. “When we have protesters, political bloggers, and MPs alike encouraging this behavior—posting politicians’ home addresses online and acting with pure ignorance and extremism—this is the result.”
Police said the suspect is in custody and facing charges related to property damage and intimidation.
The incident comes as tensions rise in New Zealand over the government’s Middle East policy, with Peters reaffirming his stance in an address to the U.N. General Assembly on Sept. 26 that the recognition of Palestinian statehood should come only through a negotiated peace process.
“With a war raging, Hamas remaining the de facto government of Gaza, and no clarity on next steps, too many questions remain about the future State of Palestine for it to be prudent for New Zealand to announce recognition at this time,” Peters said.
