Overview

• Foreign Minister Winston Peters told the UN General Assembly that immediate recognition could harden positions and complicate a ceasefire.
• The decision departs from moves by Australia, Canada, the UK and France, which recognised Palestinian statehood in the days leading into the UN meetings.
• Officials describe recognition as a matter of timing, contingent on viable institutions, democratic legitimacy and the capacity to govern.
• Future recognition is tied to the release of hostages and the disbanding and disarming of Hamas, with a broader renunciation of violence by Palestinian leaders.
• The government added NZ$10 million for Gaza relief, bringing New Zealand’s total humanitarian support to NZ$47.5 million, as opposition parties denounced the stance and ACT and the w Zealand JeJewish Council welcomed the conditional approach.