Israel has resumed bombing Gaza with more than 16,000 now Palestinians dead and the number expected to climb.
Meanwhile, the Palestine Solidarity Network Aotearoa is accusing the new government of double standards in its policy towards the Israel and Palestine conflict.
Chair John Minto says the government is making New Zealand complicit in Israeli war crimes against the Palestinian people.
“We are deeply disappointed in this government and I have to say the previous government was not better. It has condemned the attacks on Israeli civilians and the killing of Israeli civilians and that’s fair enough because it’s a war crime under the Fourth law of the Geneva Convention, but it refuses to condemn the absolute genocidal slaughter that Israel is committing in the Gaza strip,” Minto says.
6000+ Palestinian children killed
More than 6000 Palestinian children have been killed since Israel went to war and vowed to destroy Hamas - that’s the equivalent of 20 average-sized schools in New Zealand.
Minto is appalled by the government’s stance: “It is not good enough for Israel to say it is going after Hamas. It simply is not. It is going after the Palestinian population, destroying everything in Gaza and civilian infrastructure along with everything else. The government will not condemn it and that is a huge worry, " Minto says.
He says the conflict between Israel and Palestine has been going on for far too long, “Israel has never been held to account for its behaviour towards the Palestinians, for stealing of Palestinian land which goes on day after day and still continues today.”
He claims another 15 Palestinian rural villages have been abandoned because Israeli settlers with the support of the Israeli army have conducted pogroms against the local people.
‘Hold Israel to account’
“So Palestinians are getting it in the neck everywhere and New Zealand is instead sort of apologising on Israel’s behalf rather than sheeting home responsibility where it belongs. We must hold Israel to account for these crimes,” Minto says.
The truce deal collapsed after more than 100 Israelis and 240 Palestinians were freed, with at least 16,248 Palestinians being killed in Gaza since October 7. In comparison, the death toll for Israelis has been around 1,200.
Minto is calling on the government to grant visas to Palestinians who have family in New Zealand.
“It’s a humanitarian crisis and we should be looking out first of all for every Palestinian in Gaza but there are Palestinians who are related to New Zealanders and I think on a family unification process basis they should prepared to accept those people into New Zealand just as we would do in other cases for example in Ukraine. Where we had Ukrainians with New Zealand connections, they were welcomed here - we need to do the same for Gaza.”
Te Ao News has asked the coalition government for a response.