Today the Secretary General of the United Nations called for an immediate ceasefire in the Israel/Gaza war and PSNA says New Zealand must follow suite.

“The Hamas attack [of 7 October] did not happen in a vacuum.

The Palestinian people have been subjected to decades of stifling occupation. They have seen their lands devoured by settlements. Their hopes for a political solution to their plight have faded.” He added: “The attacks of the Palestinian resistance do not justify Israel’s mass killing taking place in Gaza.”

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The government announcement today at the United Nations calling for a “humanitarian pause” in the Israeli war on Gaza are an insipid response to the slaughter of Palestinians civilians in their thousands in Gaza.

“Is it the best New Zealand can do to call for a humanitarian pause in the slaughter of civilians by Israel?” says PSNA National Chair John Minto. “Already over five thousand Palestinian civilians have been killed, more than 2,000 of them children, and the best New Zealand can do is call for a tea break before Israel continues its slaughter?

“New Zealand is bigger and better than this week-kneed response from our political leaders.”

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We realise there is a transition between governments occurring, but the people of Gaza can’t wait for the help we can give.

The death toll for Palestinians in Gaza is now over 3,700 with more than 1,524 children among the dead.

How many more children do you think should die before you call for a ceasefire?

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Prime Minister Chris Hipkins bows to US pressure and does not call for “de-escalation/ceasefire,” an “end to violence/bloodshed” or “restoring calm” in Gaza

Prime Minister Chris Hipkins has capitulated to US pressure and did not use any phrase which would “urge calm” in the Gaza/Israel war when he made his announcement of $5 million in humanitarian aid to the war zone (Hipkins statement is copied in full below)

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A cowardly, shameful response to genocide of Palestinians in Gaza

This afternoon’s government announcement of $5 million in humanitarian aid to “Israel, Gaza and the West Bank” is a cowardly, shameful response to Israel’s ongoing genocide of the Palestinian people in Gaza.

The priority for Gaza is not bandages and aspirins – they need loud voices condemning Israeli genocide. They need the bombing and killing to stop.

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PSNA is pleased with the large turnout of Palestinians and Palestinian supporters at rallies around the country today.

 

The rallies, which began with a minute of silence to remember all the civilians killed in the last week, had two aims:

• To condemn 75 years of Israeli war crimes against the Palestinian people

• To demand the government speak out against these war crimes. Prime Minister Chris Hipkins has been happy to condemn attacks on Israeli civilians but has been deathly silent on the carnage Israel is once more inflicting on the civilian people of Gaza.

Dunedin (200), Christchurch (500), Auckland (3000) were the largest but gatherings also took place in small centres like Napier, New Plymouth, Hamilton, Palmerston North and New Plymouth.

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Prime Minister Chris Hipkins fell over himself earlier in the week to condemn the Hamas attack on Israel but has shown callous racism in refusing to condemn Israel’s wanton killing of Palestinians civilians in Gaza.

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*** We apologise to the Palestinian Community for previous wording. This has now been updated***

Nationwide rallies on Saturday to condemn killing of civilians and to demand New Zealand government action to prevent further tragedy

PSNA is holding rallies around the country this Saturday demanding the New Zealand government to act to prevent further killings of civilians.

The start of each rally will include a minute of silence to remember all the civilians who have been killed in the last week.

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Q - So no formal recognition (of Palestine)?

GR - Not until there is a state to recognise.

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After more than a year of talking about a visit to Palestine, and several false starts, Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta has finally called off a proposed trip to the Middle East before the election citing "scheduling problems".

This is deeply disappointing for this country, as well as for Palestinians.

The proposed visit was an opportunity for the Labour government to shift New Zealand policy to give greater support to Palestinians living under the longest military occupation in modern history and hold Israel to account for its breaches of international law and Palestinian human rights.

This will not happen now and with opinion polls as they are in the leadup to October’s election it is unlikely Mahuta will ever get to Palestine as Foreign Minister.

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PSNA congratulates New Zealand film director Jane Campion on her request for her debut film “Sweetie” to be withdrawn from apartheid Israel’s Jerusalem Film Festival.

The announcement was made by PACBI (Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel) late last night (NZ time) in this release:

https://bdsmovement.net/jerusalem-film-festival-2023

We are delighted to have an esteemed New Zealand director join at least four other international film directors in requesting their films be withdrawn from the Festival which is partnered with the Israeli Ministry of Culture.

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Khader Adnan died on hunger strike protesting his detention without trial

Palestinian resistance leader Khader Adnan died after an 87-day hunger strike in an Israeli prison protesting his detention without trial and the arbitrary nature of the allegations against him.

Adnan was being held under Israeli “administrative detention” whereby Palestinians are arrested and held without charge or trial for long periods in Israeli prisons.

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Palestine solidarity supporters in Christchurch picketed the Israeli ambassador’s private lunch today celebrating 75th anniversary of Israel’s declaration of independence.

The pro-Israel lobby kept the venue secret to try to avoid protest action and were caught by surprise when Palestine solidarity protestors arrived well before the lunch.

The Israeli ambassador slunk into the venue half an hour after the advertised time.

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The Doc Edge Film Festival as abandoned Israeli Embassy sponsorship this year after a furore caused by such sponsorship last year.

“We are very pleased to chalk this up as a success”, says John Minto, National Chair of the Palestine Solidarity Network Aotearoa. “This is a win for the international BDS campaign against apartheid Israel” (BDS – boycott, divestment and sanctions – against Israel has been a Palestinian-led campaign since 2005)

Earlier this year PSNA wrote to all the Doc Edge festival sponsors urging them to ensure the 2023 festival was an “apartheid-free zone”. We told them it would be highly provocative for the festival to receive money from the Israeli Embassy particularly given the strident anti-Palestinian policies of the new far-right Israeli leadership.

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The Israeli leadership, keen to deflect attention from its internal crises, has launched a second vicious attack on Al Aqsa in 24 hours – firing stun grenades and rubber-coated steel bullets at Palestinian worshippers.

This is a calculated, brutal and unprovoked attack on Palestinians worshipping at Al Aqsa, the third holiest site in Islam, during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan.

Countries across the world – eg the US, Malaysia, Turkey, China, Canada etc – have condemned the Israeli violence against Palestinian civilian worshippers.

New Zealand must add its voice unequivocally on the side of freedom and justice for Palestinians.

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Palestine Solidarity Network Aotearoa has written to the Minister of Foreign Affairs Nanaia Mahuta demanding the government direct the New Zealand Superfund to end investments in Israel’s brutal oppression of Palestinians.

“The Superfund must withdraw its investments in the 112 companies identified by the United Nations Human Rights Council as complicit in the building and maintenance of illegal Israeli settlements on stolen Palestinian land”, says PSNA National Chair, John Minto.

Two years ago the Superfund had $73 million invested in these companies. Today it is $125 million

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