Where New Zealand political parties stand on Gaza conflict

Tuesday, 21 November 2023

As the death toll in Gaza continues to increase and Israel’s military operations across the territory go on, New Zealand’s political parties remain split over the conflict.

In the seven weeks since Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, the conflict has escalated and taken a huge humanitarian toll, leading to an increasing number of nations calling for an immediate end to hostilities.

New Zealand’s two biggest parties have been tentative, but on Sunday, Labour leader Chris Hipkins threw his party’s support behind an immediate ceasefire.

Hipkins made sure to qualify it by saying that he was not making the statement as New Zealand’s caretaker prime minister, but as his party’s leader.

On Monday, National foreign policy spokesperson Gerry Brownlee told Radio NZ that Labour had been “playing politics”.

So where does that leave New Zealand officially?

At the moment, New Zealand’s official position is not a call for ceasefire, but rather a humanitarian pause and the establishment of safe areas for civilians.

An outline of the country’s position on the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT) website, asks “all parties involved in the conflict to act in accordance with international law, and to demonstrate basic humanity”.

Its position is that Israel has a right to defend itself but must act according to international law and protect civilians.

It has also condemned the attack by Hamas and called for the immediate release of hostages.

But not everyone in parliament is completely aligned with that approach.

National

Speaking on Monday about Hipkins’ position, Brownlee told RNZ that while Labour had essentially called for a conditional ceasefire, that stance was still slightly different from his party’s.

National was not in favour of calling for an absolute ceasefire (right now), and had earlier sought the advice provided by MFAT to the caretaker government.

“We liked the first, which was that New Zealand moves to join with Australia and Canada in a statement that was essentially calling for a ceasefire but making it clear there were conditions that had to be met,” he said.

Those conditions include the release of the Israeli hostages and a five-day ceasefire to allow humanitarian aid to reach Gaza.

“Just calling for a ceasefire is not going to make it happen,” he said. “We have to have a high degree of diplomacy, unfortunately, and all around that Israeli and Palestinian people are suffering.

“There has to be a whole process to go through and forgiveness on both sides to get to the point where there would be a ceasefire, but stating these conditions is a reasonable position.”

Labour

With one foot out the door, Hipkins said Labour was “urgently calling for a ceasefire”.

He said while he recognised Israel’s right to self-defence, he said the Israel Defence Force’s actions were “disproportionate and indiscriminate”.

He also called on Hamas to release all hostages without condition.

Prior to that, he had straddled the line and avoided calls from his coalition partners and from within his own party to back a ceasefire.

“We remain very concerned about the humanitarian impact of the conflict and the blockade preventing essential services reaching people in Gaza,” Hipkins said.

“We are calling on Israel to allow movement of supplies and all parties to support the departure of those who choose to leave.”

Greens

The Greens have been unequivocal in their support for a ceasefire in Palestine, with Chloe Swarbrick leading public demonstrations against Israel’s military action.

And on Monday morning she took to the airwaves on Newshub’s AM Show to tell Labour it was “about time” they finally took a stance on the issue.

'It's incumbent on all political leaders in this country to stand up to the plate and to say that they call for a ceasefire, a return of hostages and actually, I would say for the incoming government to recognise the statehood of Palestine,' she said.

The party’s co-leader, Marama Davidson, was part of a peace flotilla intercepted by Israel’s navy in 2016.

Te Pāti Māori

TPM has been vocal in its condemnation of Israel’s actions since it began retaliating after the October 7 attack.

The party has taken a strong line, calling for the expulsion of both Israel’s and the United States’ ambassadors.

In a statement last month, the party said that not calling for an immediate ceasefire was “turning a blind eye to genocide”.

“Aotearoa can no longer be complicit to the killing of innocent people,” it continued.

“We can no longer provide political cover for US-funded imperialism.”

ACT

Speaking on the AM Show opposite Swarbrick, ACT’s leader David Seymour shared his view that there was a double standard in the conflict.

“If any other country was attacked the way that Israel has been attacked, I think the world would be saying: ‘Yes, this is terrible, but actually, the right thing to do is for the other guys to release the hostages and stop attacking Israel,’' Seymour said.

He said he advocated for a two-state solution and calls to expel the Israeli ambassador were “completely wrong”.

NZ First

Despite being the former minister of foreign affairs, Winston Peters has not waded into the public discourse surrounding the Gaza conflict.

His only public discussion was two days after the initial Hamas incursion into Israel, calling it “abhorrent”.

He then said he backed New Zealand’s position of a two-state solution.

Where are we at in the world?

There is a growing clamour for peace among the global community with the United Nations secretary general António Guterres re-issuing calls for peace after strikes killed women and children in schools in Gaza.

“This war is having a staggering and unacceptable number of civilian casualties, including women and children, every day,” he said. “This must stop.”

Both the United States and the United Kingdom have deployed military assets to the Middle East, claiming they are there as a deterrent to possible escalation.

Neither country’s leader has called for a ceasefire, with US President Joe Biden writing in an op-ed in the Washington Post that “a cease-fire is not peace”.

Australia and Canada have taken similar positions. Australian PM Anthony Albanese has been under growing pressure to come out in support of a ceasefire, but hasn’t done so.

Neither has his Canadian counterpart Justin Trudeau, although he has been more publicly critical of Israeli actions, even drawing rebuke from Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

New Zealand is out of step with its Five Eyes allies – the US, UK, Canada and Australia – who all designate both Hamas’ political and military wings as terrorist organisations.

New Zealand distinguishes between the two, and only the military wing falls under that designation in Aotearoa. National may change this.