Overview
- Foreign Minister Winston Peters told the UN General Assembly that New Zealand will not recognise Palestine at this time due to the Gaza war, Hamas’s control in Gaza and uncertainty over next steps.
- The government reiterates recognition is a question of when, not if, conditioned on concrete steps toward a viable and legitimate Palestinian state, including hostage releases, Hamas disbandment, renunciation of violence and a halt to Israeli settlement expansion.
- The stance departs from recent recognitions by Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom and France, even as a large majority of UN member states already recognise Palestine.
- Opposition parties and advocacy groups condemned the decision as a failure of leadership, with public protests reported, while Deputy Prime Minister David Seymour defended it as independent judgment.
- Israel’s ambassador in Wellington praised the move, and New Zealand committed an additional NZ$10 million in Gaza relief, bringing its total humanitarian aid to NZ$47.5 million.