29 Paenga-whāwhā 2026
29 April 2026

Newsletter No 238

Items in this newsletter

New Items

Nationwide rallies/marches/vigils this week
Electronic Intifada reports on PSNA’s Superfund win in the High Court
PSNA national hui in Rotorua this weekend
Ban Israel from Eurovision Song Contest (petition)
Some pics from around the country this week
And an event to come…
West Bank Access Restrictions - New Map and Fact
Nicole McKee called to condemn Israel’s bulldozing of New Zealand war graves in Gaza
“Put your soul on your hand and walk” – film screenings
Fundraising raffle
Important stories this week
Regular items

Join the ICC Six watch
MPs Complicit with Genocide
Keep spreading the message about the Genocide Hotline!

Nationwide rallies/marches/MP protests/vigils this week

To view events around Aotearoa:

We have an events page on our website as well as a Facebook events page

PSNA Website events page:

You can find it here – www.PSNA.nz/Events

The QR code for the PSNA website events page is this:

It is updated on Wednesday afternoon and ongoing as events are notified to us. Please check back on Friday afternoon to see if there has been Additions or Changes.

Or go to the PSNA Homepage – www.PSNA.nz. Scroll down to the button “For a list of events Nationwide, please click here - Check back often for updates”. Click the button. Check back on Friday for any moves, adds or changes

PSNA Facebook events page

Go to the PSNA Facebook events page here

There are more than 30 events around the Motu this week.

Electronic Intifada reports on PSNA’s Superfund win in the High Court

Read the Electronic Intifada report here and read how the New Zealand High Court ruling could pave the way for changes at Australia’s Future Fund? here

From solidarity to liberation

PSNA National meeting in Rotorua

Our national hui is being held in Rotorua this coming weekend. We will have full details in newsletters in the coming few weeks.

Ban Israel from Eurovision Song Contest

Ireland, Spain, the Netherlands and Slovenia just said they'll boycott the Eurovision Song Contest unless Israel is kicked out. Now other national broadcasters are deciding whether to join the boycott and hold the Israeli government to account on the global stage. Public pressure can make all the difference. Add your name and share wildly.

Sign the petition here

Some pics from around the country this week

**Kate Liddle (right) and Palestinian solidarity supporter Kathleen Cole at the New Plymouth Cenotaph with the wreath remembering Alf Bishop** **(Ngāmotu/New Plymouth) Alf’s grave was among 100 graves bulldozed at the Gaza War Cemetery by the Israeli military in March 2025.**

**Kate lays a wreath for her great uncle Alf Bishop (Ngāmotu/New Plymouth)**

**Alf Bishop’s grave in the Gaza war cemetery before being bulldozed by Israel**

**Wreath and message in Hawkes Bay on ANZAC Day**

**Protesting PM Luxon outside Skellerup factory in Christchurch**

And an event to come…

West Bank Access Restrictions - New Map and Fact

From OCHA (the UN office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs)

A new fact sheet and an updated version of our West Bank Access Restrictions Map, based on a comprehensive survey carried out by our field teams in December 2025.

The key findings include:

925 obstacles across the West Bank (the highest number on our 20-year record)
At least 459 obstacles block or hinder access to main roads
Over 120 new road gates installed in 2025 (standalone or as part of checkpoints)
The 712-km-long Barrier (64% built) remains the single largest obstacle
3.4 million Palestinians affected
Through the interactive map, you can zoom into specific areas, display layers of your choice, and export customized, printable versions.

Nicole McKee called to condemn Israel’s bulldozing of New Zealand war graves in Gaza

ACT MP Nicle McKee is being asked to condemn Israel’s deliberate bulldozing of New Zealand war graves in Gaza after the ACT MP posted on Facebook yesterday strong support for looking after New Zealand soldiers’ graves wherever they are.

McKee says: We talk a lot about honouring our fallen – but real respect is shown in what we do, not just what we say.

Across New Zealand, volunteers from the NZ Remembrance Army have quietly restored hundreds of thousands of service graves, preserving the stories and dignity of those who served. They do it efficiently, carefully, and with genuine respect.

What’s been holding them back is layers of inconsistent rules and bureaucracy.

ACT is committing to cut through that, back these volunteers with funding, and make sure this work can continue at scale.

Because if someone was prepared to give everything for this country, the least we can do is ensure they are remembered properly.

“Israel’s destruction of New Zealand war graves was not an accident of war. It was the deliberate bulldozing of the graves by the Israeli military” says PSNA Co-Chair John Minto. “They have bulldozed dozens of Palestinian cemeteries as standard practice to erase Palestine from Gaza. They didn’t think twice about bulldozing our war graves, knowing there would be no reaction from our government and they were right”

“We agree with McKee when she says “real respect is shown in what we do, not just what we say””, says Minto. “Let’s see some respect for our soldiers who died in Gaza with a rousing government condemnation of the deliberate destruction of these war graves”

“We won’t hold our breath. The government can’t even condemn Israel for the mass killing and mass starvation of Palestinians in Gaza – a campaign of physical and cultural destruction which continues today”

PSNA has long called on the government to condemn Israel’s deliberate destruction of war graves in Gaza. Here is the PSNA media release from 9 February this year:

PSNA calls on government to condemn desecration of New Zealand war graves in Gaza

PSNA is calling on the government to condemn Israel’s desecration of New Zealand war graves in Gaza.

Israeli bulldozing of the graves was confirmed last week but the New Zealand government has not responded with any comment.

Palestinian Essam Jaradah, who has tended the New Zealand graves for 45 years, confirmed their destruction in an interview with the Guardian newspaper.

“Common decency demands we condemn Israel for this abuse of our war dead,” says Palestine Solidarity Network Aotearoa Co-Chair John Minto. “If it happened anywhere else in the world the government would register shock and be appalled.”

“Australia has spoken out but nothing from New Zealand. No protest expressed, no demand Israel apologise, no request for access to inspect the damage. Nothing.”

“Neither has there been any response from the New Zealand Returned Services Association.”

Minto says Israel relied on what he called huge and sympathetic media attention for more than two years, demanding the return of the remains of Israeli soldiers killed in Gaza.

“It seems the only human remains which matter are Israeli ones. Over a period, Israel has systematically destroyed Palestinian cemeteries and now the war graves of our soldiers.”

There were 23 graves of New Zealand World War I soldiers in the Commonwealth War Cemetery, plus another two from the 280 strong Rarotongan Company from the Cook Islands, which also fought for Britian to capture Palestine from the Turkish Ottomans.

“The families of these soldiers deserve to hear their government speak out” says Minto.

Earlier reports show appalling and deliberate damage and bodies desecrated in at least 16 other cemeteries across Gaza and Canada reported damage to the war cemetery where Canadian soldiers lie alongside New Zealanders.

According to a CNN report:

Cemeteries are given protections as “civilian objects” under international law and are afforded special protections, with limited exceptions.

“Israel has always flouted international law, and the desecration of cemeteries adds to the long list of its war crimes in Gaza,” says Minto.

“There might be some people who believe Israeli excuses that there are tunnels under everything in Gaza, so everything should be bombed or bulldozed flat.”

“But Israel has no right to be there. It is in illegal occupation of Gaza and the other Palestinian Territory of the West Bank and East Jerusalem.”

“If Israel respected international law, and withdrew its military occupation, the graves would not have been desecrated” says Minto.

The land for the cemetery was gifted by the people of Palestine.

“We are not aware that any New Zealand politician has ever visited these graves in Gaza so probably the Prime Minister will turn his back on Israeli desecration of our history as he has on the mass killing, starvation and ethnic cleansing of Palestinians in Gaza.”

The destruction of the graves was highlighted in a story in the Ngāmotu Advocate earlier this week:

“Put your soul on your hand and walk”

Details of screenings around the country are here

Fundraising Raffle – Flightless in Gaza

Important stories this week

Editor’s picks

NSW protest laws brought in after Bondi Beach attack deemed 'unconstitutional' by top court here
Italy suspends renewal of defence agreement with Israel here
Tell the EU: suspend the EU-Israel trade deal — stop these executions before they begin here

Regular items

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Join the ICC Six Watch

Share the poster on social media – keep alert – email ICC6@PSNA.nz if you find where any of these six genocide deniers are due to show up.

Keep spreading the message about the Genocide Hotline!

Remember possible action for local groups

For groups affiliated to PSNA we suggest the following actions could be taken at any time in support of this campaign

Asking your local backpacker accommodation to display the poster and draw it to the attention of any Israeli soldiers here on “rest and recreation” from the genocide.
Pasting the hotline poster (use the version in this newsletter which includes a contact email) around the vicinity of backpacker venues in your local area. This is already happening in some areas.
Hand out flyers to people in the vicinity of your local backpackers
Contact us on the hotline if you come across Israeli soldiers

Merchandise for sale - please check with your local branch and/or contact us Merchandise@PSNA.nz

**Recent new material – leaflets and stickers are free the bucket hats and caps are $25**

If your local branch does not have what you are after we are ready to mail to you any of our t-shirts, long ($35) and short ($30) sleeved, hoodies ($45) bumper stickers ($3), Tino/Palestine pins ($3) flags large & medium ($10 or $7) and other items plus postage.

The watermelon and the fist stickers will be back in stock early next week.

See more on the PSNA website here.

Reminder: Annual Dates for Palestine Solidarity

28 Mar – 4 Apr Israel Apartheid Week

30 Mar Land Day Palestine

5 Apr Palestinian Childs Day

9 Apr Deir Yassin massacre - Irgun Terrorism - 107-120 Palestinian men, women and children massacred

17 Apr Palestinian Prisoners Day

11 May World Kufiya Day

15 May Nakba Day – marking the mass ethnic cleansing of Palestinians from Palestine in 1948

5 Jun Nakba Day - Start of 1967 War - Land Grab – Invasion of Jerusalem, West Bank, Gaza, Egypt and Syria - 5 June 1967 – 10 June 1967

20 Jun Attack on Gaza - 6–21 May 2021 (2 weeks and 1 day)

16-18 Sep 40th anniversary of the Sabra and Shatila massacres

28 Sep Second Intifada - 28 Sept 2000 – 8 Feb 2005

2 Nov Balfour Declaration

29 Nov United Nations - International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People

8 Dec "First Intifada - 8 Dec 1987 – 13 Sept 1993

Are you able to donate a cup of coffee a month to the campaign?

We will need some serious money to make our campaign as effective as possible. For example, we will need somewhere in the vicinity of $25,000 to bring speakers to New Zealand over the next year and organise large public meetings to help spread the message.

You can help. Are you able to donate a cup of coffee a month to the campaign? In other words, can you afford to make an automatic payment of $5 per month to support the Palestinian struggle? (If you can afford more that would be great!)

Our account details are:

Account name: Palestine Solidarity Network
Account number: 38-9015-0849542-00

We are happy to provide a receipt upon request (however, we are not a registered charity so this is not tax-deductible)

Nationwide Rally list

To view events around Aotearoa:

Go to the PSNA Homepage – www.PSNA.nz. Scroll down to the button “For a list of events Nationwide, please click here - Check back often for updates”. Click the button. Check back on Friday for any moves, adds or changes
Or events are on the PSNA Facebook events page here
Or Scroll down to the bottom of this Newsletter for the detailed list of events for this week.
We have added a page to the PSNA website where we now post the Events list. You can find it here – www.PSNA.nz/Events

The QR code for this is:

It is updated on Wednesday afternoon and ongoing as events are notified to us. Please check back on Friday afternoon to see if there has been Additions or Changes.

More ways you can get involved

Forward this Newsletter – If you know people who may be interested in this movement, please forward this Newsletter to them.
Join in local activities in your area - Contact Secretary@PSNA.nz if you would like to know where and how to get Flags and Banners
Help set up a Students for Justice in Palestine groups on your campus
Tell Your MP your opinions on Divestment and Sanctions of Israel.
Write Letters to Newspapers – Call Talkback Radio
Keep in touch with the campaign on social media

o NZ Palestine Solidarity Network website: https://www.PSNA.nz

o NZ Palestine Solidarity Network Facebook: www.facebook.com/groups/671376706283605/

o NZ Palestine Solidarity Network email: Secretary@PSNA.nz

The Palestine Human Rights Campaign produces the In Occupied Palestine newsletter. It is a regular daily newsletter on the daily situation in Palestine, compiled by Leslie Bravery and emailed to subscribers. If you would also like to become a subscriber, please contact Leslie at “lesliebravery @ icloud .com” (remove the spaces to use as an email address) for further information.
Keep Updated on our Facebook pages and websites (listed below)
Human rights for Uyghur refugees - In line with our support for human rights for the people of Palestine we have added our name to the petition in support of human rights for Uyghur refugees so they can be included in the government’s refugee quota. PSNA members who wish to also sign this petition can do so here - https://our.actionstation.org.nz/petitions/open-letter-let-s-show-compassion-to-the-uyghur-community