Latest news with #JusticeforPalestine
Scoop
5 days ago
- Politics
- Scoop
France, UK Preparing To Recognise Palestinian State, NZ Must Join Them
Justice for Palestine welcomes the news that France and the United Kingdom are planning on recognising the State of Palestine at the UN conference on the two-state solution on 17 June. We urge the New Zealand government to follow suit. 'The Minister said New Zealand recognising Palestine was 'a matter of when, not if'. The time has come to join not only France and the UK, but 147 out of 193 UN member states that recognise the State of Palestine,' says Kate Stone, Justice for Palestine co-convenor. The UN conference hosted by France and Saudi Arabia will occur against the backdrop not only of the war in Gaza, but also against Israel's increasingly brazen moves to expand its illegal settlements on Palestinian land. Israeli Ministers have recently declared Israel will establish 22 new illegal settlements and 'legalise' existing informal settlements or outposts with the express purpose of preventing the establishment of a Palestinian state. In 2016 when New Zealand was on the UN Security Council we co-sponsored a resolution which reaffirmed that the establishment of Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territories was illegal and 'a major obstacle to the achievement of the two-State solution and a just, lasting and comprehensive peace' (UNSC 2334). 'Israel is and has for decades been flagrantly violating international law with impunity and standing in the way of any just solution in Palestine. New Zealand, alongside France, the UK and others, must stand up against Israel, and stand up for the rights of Palestinians to self-determination,' say Kate Stone. 'This is also about standing up against might over right, and standing up for the international rules based order, which we all benefit from through the protection of our rights,' 'What's more the people support New Zealand recognising Palestine. Polling we conducted in September 2024 showed that of those that had a view two-thirds supported recognition of Palestine.' The time for moral clarity and decisive action is now. After 77 years of dispossession, suffering, and systemic injustice at the hands of Israeli apartheid, the Palestinian people deserve action, not further delay. New Zealand must not remain silent in the face of what the international community is increasingly recognising as a campaign of ethnic cleansing both in Gaza and in the wider Occupied Territories. We must act. Justice for Palestine calls on the New Zealand Government to: Recognise the State of Palestine, as the basis for equal negotiations for a just peace that respects Palestinians' right to self-determination and to return to their homeland Impose sanctions on Israel, until it complies with international law Create a special emergency visa for Gazans with family in Aotearoa Continue and increase aid funding to UNRWA
Scoop
20-05-2025
- Politics
- Scoop
NZ Joining International Call For Humanitarian Aid To Gaza Welcomed, But Sanctions Need To Be Imposed On Israel Urgently
Press Release – Justice for Palestine Israel is currently carrying out a genocide in Palestine, and the New Zealand Government has failed to take meaningful action to pressure Israel to comply with international law, despite the people of NZ repeatedly calling for it. Justice for Palestine welcomes the New Zealand Government joining 22 other countries and representatives of the European Union in calling for immediate full resumption of independent aid distribution into Gaza. In a continuation of a series of illegal acts of collective punishment over the past 19 months, Israel imposed a suffocating blockade on humanitarian aid entering the Gaza Strip in March 2025. Food, medicines and essential supplies are exhausted and the population faces intentional mass starvation and famine. This act constitutes an unprecedented form of collective punishment and a stark violation of international humanitarian law. However, aid is not enough. It is the bare minimum. Justice for Palestine calls on the NZ government to join the governments of Canada, the UK and France in opposing Israel's renewed military offensive, threatening concrete actions in response, and threatening the imposition of sanctions in response to any further expansion of illegal Israeli settlements in the West Bank. But the threat of 'concrete actions' is not enough: Israel has been flouting international law with impunity, and New Zealand must urgently impose sanctions. Israel is currently carrying out a genocide in Palestine, and the New Zealand Government has failed to take meaningful action to pressure Israel to comply with international law, despite the people of NZ repeatedly calling for it. We urge the government to act decisively and implement sanctions on the state of Israel without delay. Imposing sanctions would ensure New Zealand adheres to its obligations under international law and lives up to its proud history of doing what is morally right in the face of human rights violations. The members' bill Unlawful Occupation of Palestine Sanctions Bill, which mirrors the Russia Sanctions Bill, has already been drafted. We call on the NZ Government to adopt the Bill without delay, so we as a nation can take concrete legislative measures to save Palestinian lives and uphold international legal frameworks that benefit all of humanity.
Scoop
20-05-2025
- Politics
- Scoop
NZ Joining International Call For Humanitarian Aid To Gaza Welcomed, But Sanctions Need To Be Imposed On Israel Urgently
Justice for Palestine welcomes the New Zealand Government joining 22 other countries and representatives of the European Union in calling for immediate full resumption of independent aid distribution into Gaza. In a continuation of a series of illegal acts of collective punishment over the past 19 months, Israel imposed a suffocating blockade on humanitarian aid entering the Gaza Strip in March 2025. Food, medicines and essential supplies are exhausted and the population faces intentional mass starvation and famine. This act constitutes an unprecedented form of collective punishment and a stark violation of international humanitarian law. However, aid is not enough. It is the bare minimum. Justice for Palestine calls on the NZ government to join the governments of Canada, the UK and France in opposing Israel's renewed military offensive, threatening concrete actions in response, and threatening the imposition of sanctions in response to any further expansion of illegal Israeli settlements in the West Bank. But the threat of 'concrete actions' is not enough: Israel has been flouting international law with impunity, and New Zealand must urgently impose sanctions. Israel is currently carrying out a genocide in Palestine, and the New Zealand Government has failed to take meaningful action to pressure Israel to comply with international law, despite the people of NZ repeatedly calling for it. We urge the government to act decisively and implement sanctions on the state of Israel without delay. Imposing sanctions would ensure New Zealand adheres to its obligations under international law and lives up to its proud history of doing what is morally right in the face of human rights violations. The members' bill Unlawful Occupation of Palestine Sanctions Bill, which mirrors the Russia Sanctions Bill, has already been drafted. We call on the NZ Government to adopt the Bill without delay, so we as a nation can take concrete legislative measures to save Palestinian lives and uphold international legal frameworks that benefit all of humanity.
Scoop
06-05-2025
- Politics
- Scoop
No Cause For Celebration While Gaza Is Starving - Protest At Israeli Independence Party Demands Humanitarian Aid
Alternative Jewish Voices and Justice for Palestine are holding a snap action to protest the celebration of Israel while the state starves the civilian population in Gaza and signals its intention to violently dispossess and displace Palestinians in Gaza. Date: Today, Tuesday 6 May 2025 Time: 5:30pm Location: TBC - Central Wellington location - for venue information, please contact us (0277802843) or check our socials at For over two months Israel has blocked the entry of humanitarian aid into Gaza, including food, water and critical aid, for the 2.1 million Palestinians who are blockaded there. The inevitable and intended consequence is that tens of thousands of Palestinians are facing severe malnutrition, and over 50 deaths by starvation so far, including children. Israel's use of starvation as a weapon of war is a war crime, and just last week the International Court of Justice concluded hearings on Israel's obligations to allow humanitarian aid in the Palestinian territories. The vast majority of participating States agreed that Israel should not be allowed to starve civilians in the territories it occupies. Just today Israel's security cabinet has approved a plan to 'intensify' its forced displacement of civilians in Gaza, doubling down on its ethnic cleansing and genocide. At the same time, the Israeli embassy in New Zealand intends to celebrate Israel's independence, wining and dining, while the same State is literally starving the people in Gaza to death. Marilyn Garson, spokesperson for Alternative Jewish Voices said: 'New Zealanders will not stand by while the people of Gaza are deprived of food and water. Israel has chosen to use starvation as a weapon of war. To protest against that is an act of empathy and principle. We find it intolerable that Israel's representative should host a party in the midst of these illegal and immoral acts.' Alternative Jewish Voices and Justice for Palestine call for the New Zealand government to: Sanction Israel until it complies with its obligation under international law, including providing humanitarian aid to Gaza Establish emergency visas for people in Gaza with family in New Zealand Increase humanitarian aid Actively support and engage with ICJ and ICC proceedings Recognise the State of Palestine
