Pressure is mounting on the Government to take firmer action against Israel as the humanitarian crisis in Gaza worsens, with MPs across the house demanding sanctions and a stronger diplomatic stance.
The renewed calls come after a ministerial statement from Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters today. Peters reaffirmed New Zealand’s longstanding support for a ceasefire and a two-state solution, but opposition MPs argued that words in a statement alone were no longer enough.
“Children are being starved, many being shot daily by the IDF while lining up for food,” said Te Pāti Māori co-leader Rawiri Waititi.
“They are slowly dying on livestream. Don’t dare turn a blind eye, saying we didn’t know.”
MPs from Te Pāti Māori, the Green Party and Labour used the debate to call for immediate and tangible action while the death toll continues to rise.
Green MP Teanau Tuiono shared the story of a family he has been helping to get whānau to New Zealand from Palestine.
“They had come from Gaza, and she was here for one week before the bombs dropped on her apartment, destroying the apartment that she lived in.
“I want members around the house to remember that, that when they look overseas and see their grandmothers, their daughters, their grandfathers, their brothers and sisters dying, that this is something that the house should take into account.”
Tuiono also urged Parliament to show the same resolve it did following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
“When Russia invaded the Ukraine that we passed sanctions. This House passed sanctions so it can move quickly when the political will does exist,” he said.
“We’ve got a bill in the members’ tin which would allow this Parliament to put sanctions on Israel. Because that is what is needed. That is what is being called for.”
That bill, championed by co-leader Chlöe Swarbrick, would empower Parliament to impose targeted sanctions, including travel bans, asset freezes, and trade restrictions, on individuals or entities involved in what the bill defines as the unlawful occupation of Palestinian territory.
The bill has drawn support from the Greens, Labour, and Te Pāti Māori, with 55 opposition MPs backing it. To be drawn from the parliamentary ballot, it would need support from just six more Government MPs to proceed to debate.
In the House, Peters said the justification for asset freezes and further restrictions had not yet been established.
Labour MP Peeni Henare reinforced the urgency of acting now and that there was ‘more New Zealand can do and must do’, calling for more aid and for New Zealand to support South Africa’s ICJ case.
“Silence is no longer the issue; inaction is.”
Peters responded, saying the ICJ case against Israel had not yet been decided, and it would be wrong to prejudge the court’s decisions.
Henare described the devastation in Gaza as one of the worst humanitarian crises in recent memory, citing the impact of Israel’s military campaign and blockade.
In his ministerial statement, Peters acknowledged the scale of the suffering and affirmed that New Zealand has joined 28 other countries in issuing a joint statement urging an end to the war.
“This horror must end. Too many lives have been lost. Too many people have been traumatised, polarised and embittered, ensuring that yet another generation of Israeli and Palestinian children are born into a situation of insufferable conflict and enmity,” he said.
“As today’s joint statement by 28 Foreign Ministers says, we strongly oppose any steps towards territorial or demographic change in the occupied Palestinian territories. Such steps seek to undermine the two-state solution, and they must stop.”
But for many, that approach falls short.
“We do not accept this Government’s pathetic lip service calling for a ceasefire,” said Waititi.
“It’s your fifth time in two years. We must end this human crisis. Sanction Israel. Sanction everyone supporting them. And again, we demand Israel open the bloody gates.”
