NZ Joining International Call For Humanitarian Aid To Gaza Welcomed, But Sanctions Need To Be Imposed On Israel Urgently
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.
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It makes for stark and dark reading. The report for the UN Human Rights Council titled From economy of occupation to economy of genocide makes mention of 'corporate entities' who have been enriched by 'the Israeli economy of illegal occupation, apartheid and now genocide.' Authored by the relentless Francesca Albanese, the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territories occupied since 1967, it is unflinching in its assessments and warnings to companies doing business with Israel. What makes the investigative undertaking by Albanese useful is its examination of the corporate world and its links to the colonial, settler program of removing and displacing a pre-existing population. The machinery of conquest of any state necessarily involves not only the desk job occupants in civilian bureaucracies and high-ranking military commanders, but those in the corporate sector, eager to make a profit. 'Colonial endeavours and associated genocides,' writes Albanese, 'have historically been driven and enabled by the corporate sector. Commercial interests have contributed to the dispossession of Indigenous peoples of their lands – a mode of domination known as 'colonial racial capitalism'.' Eight private sectors come in for scrutiny: arms manufacturers, tech firms, building and construction entities, those industries concerned with extraction and services, banks, pension funds, insurers, universities and charities. 'These entities enable the denial of self-determination and other structural violations in the occupied Palestinian territory, including occupation, annexation and crimes of apartheid and genocide, as well as a long list of ancillary crimes and human rights violations, from discrimination, wanton destruction, forced displacement and pillage to extrajudicial killing and starvation.' Advertisement - scroll to continue reading Central to the multifaceted economy of genocide, the report charges, is the military-industrial complex that forms 'the economic backbone of the State.' Albanese cites a stellar example: the F-35 fighter jet, developed by US-based Lockheed Martin, in collaboration with hundreds of other companies 'including Italian manufacturer Leonardo S.p.A, and eight States.' Since October 2023, the process of colonisation and displacement has assumed an air of urgency, aided by the private sector. In 2024, US$200 million was advanced for 'colony construction'. Between November 2023 and October 2024, 57 new colonies and outposts were established 'with Israeli and international companies supplying machinery, raw materials and logistical support.' Examples include the maintenance and expansion of the Jerusalem Light Rail Red Line, the construction of the new Green Line, encompassing 27 kilometres of new tracks and 50 stations in the West Bank. The infrastructure has proven to be invaluable in linking the colonial project to West Jerusalem. Despite some companies withdrawing from the project 'owing to international pressure', an entity such as the Spanish/Basque Construcciones y Auxiliar de Ferrocarriles has been a keen participant, along with suppliers of excavating machinery (South Korea's Doosan and Sweden's Volvo Group), and providers of materials for the light-rail bridge (Germany's Heidelberg Materials AG). Beyond the structural and physical program of construction and displacement, all designed to extinguish any semblance of self-determination on the part of the Palestinians, come other features of the colonial project. A prominent feature of this, Albanese notes, is that of 'surveillance and carcerality'. Repressing Palestinians has become a 'progressively automated' affair, with tech companies feeding Israel's voracious security appetite with 'unparalleled developments in carceral and surveillance devices', some of which include closed-circuit television networks, biometric surveillance, advanced tech checkpoint networks, drone surveillance and cloud computing. Palantir Technologies Inc., a specialist in software platforms, comes in for a special mention. 'There are reasonable grounds to believe Palantir has provided automatic predictive policing technology, core defence infrastructure for rapid and scale-up construction and deployment of military software, and its Artificial Intelligence Platform, which allows real-time battlefield data integration for automated decision making.' With the report released, the dance of dissimulation began. Lockheed Martin told the Middle East Eye that foreign military sales were not their preserve as far as accountability or cause of concern was, a lofty, business-like attitude unshackled from a moral compass. Such sales took place between governments, meaning that the US government would be best placed to answer any questions. Hand washing and deferrals of guilt is a private sector speciality after all. In a more direct fashion, both Israel and the United States have continued their 'Hate Albanese' campaign, boringly reiterating old accusations while adopting novel interpretations of international law. Given the obvious loathing of international human rights conventions by Israeli officials and their US backers, this is decidedly rich, even more so given such jurisprudence as that of the International Court of Justice's Advisory Opinion of July 2024, and the International Criminal Court arrest warrants for Israeli officials, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. 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A June 20 letter to UN Secretary-General António Guterres from the Trump administration obtained by The Washington Free Beacon took issue with Albanese's supposed record of 'virulent antisemitism and support for terrorism', bitchily sniping at her legal qualifications. Little is actually mentioned of international law in the bilious missive by US Ambassador Dorothy C. Shea, acting representative to the UN, other than a snotty dismissal of UN General Assembly resolutions and advisory opinions by the International Court of Justice as lacking any binding force 'on either States or private actors'. Shea claims Albanese 'misrepresented her qualifications for the role by claiming to be an international lawyer despite admitting publicly that she has not passed a legal bar examination or been licensed to practice law.' A fabulous accusation, given the surfeit of allegedly qualified legal members working in the Israeli Defense Forces and other offices executing their program of displacement, starvation and killing. The accusations against various corporate entities, notably over 20 US entities, were 'riddled with inflammatory rhetoric and false accusations', making such daring claims of 'gross human rights violations', 'apartheid' and 'genocide'. These charges, ventured through letters of accusation, constituted 'an unacceptable campaign of political and economic warfare against the American and worldwide economy.' It comes as little surprise that the security rationale – one that says nothing of the Palestinian right to self-determination, let alone rights to life and necessaries – marks the entire complaint against Albanese's apparent lack of impartiality. 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The Israeli genocide in Gaza, along with the escalating regional wars it has ignited, has brought two chilling truths into our focus: first, Israel is deliberately and aggressively undermining the security and stability of the entire Middle East and, second, Israel is utterly incapable of surviving on its own. These two assertions, though seemingly distinct, are inextricably linked. For if those who relentlessly sustain Israel—militarily, politically, and economically—were to finally withdraw their support, the Middle East would not be the powder keg it has been for decades, a situation that has catastrophically worsened since October 7, 2023. Though no oversimplification is intended, the brutal reality is that all it would take is for Israel to withdraw from Gaza, allowing the devastated, genocide-stricken Strip the faintest chance to heal. Over 56,000 Palestinians, including more than 17,000 children and 28,000 women, have been brutally slaughtered since the commencement of this war, a horrifying tally expected to surge dramatically when comprehensive investigations into the missing are finally conducted. Only then could the process of returning to some semblance of normalcy begin, where the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people must be fiercely championed within an international system built, at least theoretically, upon unwavering respect for basic human rights and international law. The abhorrent "might makes right" maxim would have to be utterly expunged from any future political equation. Middle Eastern countries, both Arab and Muslim, must finally rise to the occasion, stepping up decisively to aid their brethren and to ensure that Israel is powerless to divide their ranks. For Israel, this demand is simply impossible, a non-starter and, understandably so, from its colonial perspective. Why? "Invasion is a structure, not an event," the influential scholar Patrick Wolfe has famously asserted. This profound statement unequivocally means that Israel's wars, commencing with the ethnic cleansing of Palestine, the Nakba, of 1948, and all subsequent wars and military occupations, were not random historical coincidences, but rather integral components of an enduring structure of power designed to eliminate the indigenous population. This renders as simply false the notion that Israel's behavior after October 7 was solely driven by revenge and devoid of strategy. We are perhaps excused for failing to initially grasp this distinction, given the grisly, unspeakable nature of the Israeli actions in Gaza and the palpable sense of perverse pleasure Israel seems to derive from the daily murder of innocent people. Yet, the language emanating from Israel was chillingly clear about its true motives. 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Governments like Spain and others are doing what many had not expected only years ago: Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez is powerfully advocating for the suspension of the EU-Israel Association Agreement, an extensive trade deal in place since 2000, due to "the catastrophic situation of genocide." If more such governments were to adopt a similar, uncompromising stance, Israel would be choked off, at least from acquiring the very murder weapons it uses to carry out its barbaric genocide. It is our collective responsibility to march in lockstep behind such courageous voices and demand uncompromising accountability, not only from Israel, but from those who are actively sustaining its Israeli settler colonial structure. A- Dr. Ramzy Baroud is a journalist, author and the Editor of The Palestine Chronicle. He is the author of six books. His latest book, co-edited with Ilan Pappé, is ' Our Vision for Liberation: Engaged Palestinian Leaders and Intellectuals Speak Out'. His other books include 'My Father was a Freedom Fighter' and 'The Last Earth'. Baroud is a Non-resident Senior Research Fellow at the Center for Islam and Global Affairs (CIGA). His website is
Otago Daily Times
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Hamas seeks ceasefire guarantees as strikes continue
Hamas is seeking guarantees that a new U.S.-backed ceasefire proposal for Gaza would lead to the war's end, a source close to the militant group said today, as medics said Israeli strikes across the territory had killed scores more people. Israeli officials said prospects for reaching a ceasefire and hostage deal appeared high, nearly 21 months since the war between Israel and Hamas began. Efforts for a Gaza truce gathered steam after the U.S. secured a ceasefire to end a 12-day aerial conflict between Israel and Iran, but on the ground in Gaza intensified Israeli strikes continued unabated, killing at least 59 people on Thursday, according to health authorities in the territory. On Tuesday, U.S. President Donald Trump said that Israel had accepted the conditions needed to finalise a 60-day ceasefire with Hamas, during which the parties will work to end the war. Hamas is seeking clear guarantees that the ceasefire will eventually lead to the war's end, the source close to the group said. Two Israeli officials said those details were still being worked out. In a statement early on Friday, Hamas said it was discussing the ceasefire proposal with other Palestinian factions and would submit its response to mediators once those talks conclude. Egyptian and Qatari mediators have been working to secure U.S. and international guarantees that talks on ending the war would continue as a way of convincing Hamas to accept a two-month truce proposal, Egyptian security sources said. A senior Israeli official close to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said preparations were in place to approve a ceasefire deal. A separate source familiar with the matter said that Israel was expecting Hamas' response by Friday and that if it was positive, an Israeli delegation would join indirect talks to cement the deal. The proposal includes the staggered release of 10 living Israeli hostages and the return of the bodies of 18 more in exchange for Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails, an official familiar with the negotiations said on Thursday. Of the 50 remaining hostages in Gaza, 20 are believed to still be alive. Aid would enter Gaza immediately, and the Israeli military would carry out a phased withdrawal from parts of the enclave, according to the proposal. Negotiations would immediately start on a permanent ceasefire. "We sure hope it's a done deal, but I think it's all going to be what Hamas is willing to accept," U.S. ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee told Israel's Channel 12 on Thursday. "One thing is clear: The president wants it to be over. The prime minister wants it to be over. The American people, the Israeli people, want it to be over." Huckabee added that he would be taking part in talks next week at the White House, when Netanyahu is due to meet with Trump. 'WHAT CAN WE DO?' In Gaza, there was no sign of immediate relief on Thursday. According to medics at Nasser Hospital, at least 20 people were killed by Israeli fire en route to an aid distribution site. Further north, at least 17 people were killed in an Israeli strike at a school in Gaza City, according to medics. The Israeli military said it targeted a key Hamas gunman operating there and that it took precautions to reduce risk to civilians. "Suddenly, we found the tent collapsing over us and a fire burning. We don't know what happened," one witness, Wafaa Al-Arqan, who was among the people sheltering there, told Reuters. "What can we do? Is it fair that all these children burned?" The war began when Hamas fighters stormed into Israel on October 7, 2023, killing 1,00 people and taking 251 hostages back to Gaza, according to Israeli tallies. Israel's subsequent military assault has killed more than 57,000 Palestinians, according to the Gaza health ministry, while displacing most of the population of more than 2 million, triggering widespread hunger and leaving much of the territory in ruins. Israel says it won't end the war while Hamas is still armed and ruling Gaza. Hamas, severely weakened, says it won't lay down its weapons but is willing to release all the hostages still in Gaza if Israel ends the war.
