New Zealand |
Palestine |
---|---|
Diplomatic mission | |
Embassy of New Zealand, Ankara, Turkey | General Delegation of Palestine to Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific |
Envoy | |
Zoe Coulson-Sinclair | Izzat Salah Abdulhadi |
New Zealand–Palestine relations refer to foreign relations between New Zealand and the State of Palestine. New Zealand does not recognise Palestine as a country. [1]
New Zealand supports a two-state solution to the Israel-Palestine dispute. [2] [3]
During World War I, around 6000 New Zealand soldiers fought in the Sinai and Palestine campaign, a British campaign to drive the Ottoman Empire out of the Levant, leading to the establishment of British-controlled Mandatory Palestine in 1920. [4]
In 1988, the government of New Zealand recognized the Palestine Information Office as the official representative of the Palestinian Liberation Organization based in Canberra. [5] New Zealand's embassy in Turkey is responsible for Palestinian affairs. [5]
In 2018, New Zealand singer Lorde called off a tour of Israel following pressure from two Palestinian activists in New Zealand. [6] The activists were fined by a court in Israel for their actions which they refused to pay. [7]
In May 2021, the Green Party with the support of Te Pāti Māori introduced a resolution calling on New Zealand to recognise Palestine. [8] It failed as it was not supported by the Labour Party and ACT Party. [8] [9]
The New Zealand government condemned the Hamas attack that led to the 2023 Israel–Hamas war and defended Israel's right to defend itself. [3] [10] It called for a ceasefire and asked Israel to abide by international law. [11] New Zealand also announced NZ$10 million for Palestine and Israel. [3] Chris Hipkins, leader of the New Zealand Labour Party, called for a ceasefire while other parties did not. [12] The Labour Party has promised to establish diplomatic relations with Palestine if elected, but later walked back on that decision. [1] [13]
Pro-Palestinian protestors in New Zealand sprayed red paint on the United States consulate. [14] A pro-Israel rally led by Destiny Church clashed with pro-Palestinian protestors outside Parliament in December 2023. [15]
In late January 2024, New Zealand suspended its annual NZ$1 million aid contribution to UNRWA (the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees in the Near East) following allegations that several UNRWA workers had participated in the 2023 Hamas-led attack on Israel. [16] This followed a decision by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade to review New Zealand's aid to UNRWA in light of the allegations. [17]
In late February 2024, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Foreign Minister Winston Peters confirmed that the New Zealand Government had designated the entire Hamas organisation as a terrorist entity. Previous governments had only designated the military wing of Hamas as a terrorist organisation. In addition, the New Zealand Government banned several extremist Israeli settlers who had committed violence against Palestinians in the West Bank. [18]
According to Māori Television's Te Ao Māori News, New Zealand approved more visas for Israelis than Palestinians during the conflict. [19] In March 2024, New Zealand Arab Association spokesperson Katrina Mitchell Kouttab urged the Government to create a special humanitarian visa for Palestinians to leave Gaza similar to the humanitarian visa programme created in 2022 for Ukrainians fleeing the Russian invasion of Ukraine. [20]
Murray McCully, Minister of Foreign Affairs of New Zealand, visited Ramallah in February 2010. [21]
In 2015, Dr Riad Malki, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Palestine, visited New Zealand. [2] [22] He held meetings with Murray McCully, Minister of Foreign Affairs of New Zealand. [2] New Zealand drafted a resolution at the United Nations Security Council calling Israel to halt building illegal settlements in Palestinian territories. [2] Jim McClay was appointed the representative of New Zealand to the Palestinian Authority. [23]
Greg Lewis, New Zealand's Special Representative to Palestine, met Mohammad Shtayyeh, Prime Minister of Palestine, in Ramallah in August 2022. [24]