“Statements about recognising statehood provide the appearance of supporting an end to the genocide, but change nothing in reality,” writes John Hobbs. (Photo: RNZ)
New statements about recognising statehood for Palestine change nothing of substance, writes John Hobbs.
Aotearoa New Zealand once earned praise for its “principled” and “independent” foreign policy. Think nuclear-free Pacific, for example.
Yet that reputation doesn’t hold true when it comes to Gaza and the Palestinian desire and right to self-determination.
Under the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of Genocide, states must take positive steps to prevent genocide. The New Zealand government appears to be failing in this obligation.
So far, our ministers have chosen carefully crafted diplomatic language buried under joint country statements to influence the situation in Gaza, while at the same time protecting relationships with allies, particularly the US.
The latest of these is a statement issued in the last few days, in which New Zealand joined a group of 28 “concerned” countries to express horror at the “suffering of civilians in Gaza”, which, it says, “has reached new depths”. The statement calls for the lifting of restrictions on the “flow of aid” and demands “an immediate, unconditional and permanent ceasefire.”
Just to be clear, the “flow of aid” is the life-saving food and water that’s needed to prevent the mass starvation of Palestinians as famine driven by Israel deepens.
Demands for a ceasefire have been made on numerous occasions in the United Nations General Assembly and the United Nations Security Council, to no effect.
Yet countries like New Zealand fail to sanction Israel for its non-compliance. Indeed, they do worse. These same countries continue to trade with Israel, and a number of them continue to provide weapons and arms.
According to trade data, New Zealand in 2023 imported goods and services of US$191 million from Israel and exported US$16.4 million the other way.
Most recently, New Zealand joined 14 other countries to “express the willingness or the positive consideration of our countries to recognize the State of Palestine, as an essential step towards the two-State solution.”
The statement is heavily caveated by saying that “positive consideration” is one option — so it’s not clear if all, or indeed any, of the countries will end up recognising Palestinian statehood.
By contrast, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer has issued a separate statement, saying the UK would recognise the state of Palestine in September if Israel doesn’t agree to a ceasefire.
Starmer’s concern for the starvation of civilians in Gaza hasn’t stopped the UK from sending military arms to Israel. But this is at least a clearer stance than New Zealand has been able to muster.
More than 140 UN member states formally recognise Palestinian statehood now.
And while recognition of statehood is largely symbolic, it does signal a level of solidarity with the Palestinian people. Inexplicably, New Zealand has been unwilling to take that step, while calling it a future option under “two-state” diplomacy.
New Zealand has trundled out its support of the two-state solution since at least 1993, reinforced by its co-sponsorship, in 2015-16, of a UN Security Council resolution condemning Israeli settlement expansion.
That resolution declared settlements in occupied territories illegal under international law and urged member states to distinguish in its dealings between Israel and the territories occupied since 1967.
Since then, Israel has continued to transfer its citizens to the West Bank and Gaza. Well over 750,000 Israeli settlers are now living in the West Bank and East Jerusalem — areas where a future Palestinian state would be located.
Meanwhile, New Zealand has failed to take any meaningful action — sanctions or suspension of trade, for example — to implement the requirements of the Security Council resolution. That the government consistently frames its response as supporting a two-state solution beggars belief in light of such inaction.
New Zealand’s refusal to sanction Israel is nothing but shameful.
When foreign affairs minister Winston Peters expressed shock about the “intolerable situation” in Gaza, Radio New Zealand asked him whether New Zealand would entertain placing sanctions on Israel. He responded by saying that we are a “long, long way off doing that.”
The genocide in Gaza is happening with the support of countries like New Zealand, through inaction and failure to implement sanctions.
And statements about recognising statehood provide the appearance of supporting an end to the genocide, but change nothing in reality.
John Hobbs (Photo supplied)
John Hobbs has been a career public servant, working in a number of government departments (most recently the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet). He also worked for a number of Ministers on secondment from government agencies. He has a Master of Commerce (Hons) in Economics from the University of Auckland and a Master of Arts (Thesis) with Distinction in Peace and Conflict Studies, from the University of Otago. He is currently undertaking a PhD at the National Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies, Te Tumu School of Māori, Pacific and Indigenous Studies, Otago University.
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As at 12 August 2025, Aotearoa NZ is still dragging a very long chain on its recognition of Palestine as a sovereign, independent state.
This despite the fact that more than 75 percent of UN members have already done so, and that countries we love to compare ourselves with, but are increasingly unlike (e.g. Australia), have already announced their intentions to proceed with recognition.
UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer has said that his country would recognise Palestine in September if Israel had not agreed to a ceasefire. Well, this is the same Israel that is now launching a fresh military assault on Gaza City, which doesn’t look very much like the precursor to a ceasefire.
But back here in Aotearoa NZ, foreign minister Winston Peters is desperately trying to placate Donald Trump, whose support for Israel has enabled it to kill more than 60,000 Gazans, including many thousands of children, and to commit war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza. These include the use of food and medicine, and consequently starvation and sickness, as weapons of war.
By agonisingly dragging the chain on recognition of Palestine, Aotearoa NZ could increasingly be seen as a defacto supporter of Israel and Trump. Meanwhile, our government attributes its procrastination to Aotearoa NZ’s “independent foreign policy”.
To Israel: “Be careful when you fight a monster that you do not a monster become” (Nietzsche).
New Zealand government’s disgraceful position on the Gaza genocide and the Palestine question more generally is a direct consequence of colonialism and the state will not have an independent and principled foreign policy until it is completely separated from its colonialist origins. That means fundamental constitutional change and the full imposition of rangatiratanga.