What is this operation? The New Zealand Government has deployed New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF) personnel to support the US and UK-led Operation Prosperity Guardian. The Operation was launched in December 2023 after the Houthi Movement in Yemen blockaded access to Israel via the Red Sea and attacked ships heading to or associated with Israel in response to Israel’s war on Gaza and US support for it.[2] The Houthis have said they’ll stop their attacks as soon as Israel agrees to a ceasefire, end its war crimes in Gaza and allow humanitarian aid  to reach the people of Gaza.[3] As the name of the operation suggests, the US, UK, New Zealand and others claim to have launched this operation to protect shipping. Yet this ‘concern’ for maritime law and the ‘free flow of goods’ does not extend to Israel’s illegal sea (air and land) blockade of Gaza that has been going on since 2007. How is New Zealand involved? In January 2024 the Prime Minister, Minister of Defence, Judith Collins, and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Winston Peters, announced that New Zealand was deploying six members of the New Zealand Defence Force to join the US and UK-led operation.[4] At the time the Prime Minister said the deployment would conclude no later than 31 July 2024, even when directly asked if the deployment would be extended. But on 12 July the Minister of Defence and Minister of Foreign Affairs announced that the deployment would be extended till January 2025.[5] Exactly what NZDF personnel are doing is not entirely clear, but the Prime Minister has said they would provide “precision targeting” through gathering intelligence and the Defence Minister said they would assist in targeting Houthi bases that were involved in attacks on vessels.[6] US-led airstrikes targeting Houthis have killed a number of people and wounded many others.[7] Why are we opposed to NZDF involvement? 1. It aligns NZ with US militarism and Israeli war crimes In joining this US and UK-led operation New Zealand is not only involving itself in war in the Middle East, but it is aligning itself with the US and its support for Israel’s war on Gaza. Israel is currently committing genocide on the people of Gaza, and is perpetuating numerous other war crimes across Palestine. Over 38,000 people in Gaza are officially reported to have been killed, over half of them women and children, but experts have suggested the death toll will be significantly higher - estimated at 186,000 or more - taking into account thousands of people buried under the rubble and indirect deaths as a result of the destruction of health, food distribution and other infrastructure. [8] Israel is also blocking adequate humanitarian aid from entering Gaza, including desperately needed medical supplies and food for the population who are currently starving. The US is enabling Israel to continue its bombardment of the trapped population in Gaza by sending billions of dollars in military aid. 2. Israel is violating international law The International Court of Justice (ICJ) has ordered Israel to cease its activities and comply with its obligations under international law. The International Criminal Court is considering issuing warrants for arrest of the Israeli Prime Minister and Defence Minister for war crimes. Various bodies of the UN, most recently the ICJ’s advisory opinion[8], have declared that Israel is in breach of the most fundamental norms of international law, including operating an apartheid regime in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. The ICJ has said all States - that includes NZ - have obligations not to support and to prevent Israel's breaches of international law. 3. NZ Government's actions are hypocritical and risky Despite the fact that Israel is flagrantly breaching international law in the most horrific and inhumane way, our Government is putting its military might into maintaining international law rules that enable commercial shipping, and allege it is the Houthis who are disregarding international law, peace and stability. Rather than contributing to the pursuit of peace in the region, the Government has involved the NZDF in a situation which is at risk of expanding into wider regional conflict in the Middle East. 4. There is no democratic mandate The Government’s actions in deploying the NZDF do not represent the views and values of New Zealanders and the Government has no democratic mandate for this action. New Zealanders are proud of our track record maintaining independent foreign policy and standing up for equality, human rights and justice against the apartheid regime in South Africa.This Government is departing from those traditions and putting New Zealand on the wrong side of history, without giving New Zealanders a say. We don’t want the NZDF to be involved in a deadly military operation in the Middle East that has no end date.  Rather than supporting Operation Prosperity Guardian, New Zealand should be putting all its efforts into ensuring the Israeli Government stops committing war crimes, ends its illegal occupation and apartheid policies imposed on the Palestinian people. References [1] Fran O’Sullivan. “Winston Peters’ Houthi Red Sea move brings NZ and the US closer” NZ Herald. 6 Jan 2024.  [2] US-led coalition warns Houthis of ‘consequences’ after Red Sea attacks. Al Jazeera. 3 January 2024. [3] Who are the Houthis? A simple guide to the Yemeni group. Al Jazeera. 12 January 2024.  [4] New Zealand deploying NZDF team to protect Red Sea shipping, 23 January 2024. [5]  NZDF’s Red Sea deployment extended, 12 July 2024. [6] New Zealand to deploy Defence Force to Red Sea, 23 January 2024. [7] US and UK air strikes hit Yemen, Houthi-run TV reports, 7 June 2024. [8] Gaza toll could exceed 186,000, Lancet study says, 8 July 2024.  [9] ICJ Advisory Opinion - On the legal consequences arising from the policies and practices of Israel in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, 19 July 2024.

On Monday, July 8th, Te Herenga Waka students returned to their studies after a short break. That same day marked nine months of Israel’s genocidal campaign that has destroyed the studies, lives, and futures of the students of Gaza. According to research published in the Lancet journal on July 5th, "it is not implausible to estimate that up to 186 000 or even more deaths could be attributable" to the genocide. In past weeks, Israel continues its relentless attacks on civilians.  As staff and students of Victoria University, we are appalled that since the closing of the 2023 academic year, no student in Gaza has been able to return to class, no lecturer to a lectern, no scientist to a lab. Not one of Gaza’s 12 Universities remains standing. This is scholasticide. Gaza university staff released an open letter on May 29th, 2024, calling upon “friends and colleagues around the world to resist the ongoing campaign of scholasticide in occupied Palestine”. On the same day, students of Gaza urged the students of the world to “raise the pace and ceiling of your struggle and your honourable stances, quantitatively and qualitatively, against the institutions, corporations, and governments that participate in the slaughter of our children, our students, and our people”. As members of the University community, we must respond to these calls for support and justice not only symbolically, but also through collective and institutional actions. It is with these aims in mind that we make the following demands of Victoria University: 1. Divest all funds held by the university and university foundation with ties to Israel The Victoria University Foundation’s $69 million investment portfolio, a significant proportion of which is in international assets, is managed (at least in part) by Nikko Asset Management. Nikko’s international portfolio holds Israeli government bonds, which helps finance their military campaigns. It is likely, therefore, that the University Foundation’s money is invested in Israeli government bonds. Nikko is also invested in Palantir and Safran, large multinationals that supply weapons and military intelligence used against Palestinians. The Foundation must immediately divest from these funds, which directly tie the University’s money to genocide. 2. Implement a financial and academic Boycott, Divest, Sanctions (BDS) policy The University can take a meaningful stance against Israeli apartheid by boycotting companies that finance Israel’s crimes, as well as ceasing collaboration and partnership with Israeli universities, in line with the recommendations of the BDS movement and the Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (PACBI). 3. Establish scholarships and fellowships for Palestinian students and academics The University must offer opportunities for students and staff who have had their studies and careers violently interrupted either by the assault on Gaza or the punishing occupation and escalating settler violence in the West Bank. A fellowship was launched to support Ukrainian academics in 2022; the same should be done for those in Palestine. We, as students, academics, staff and university constituents, want to be part of a University that takes meaningful, material action against settler colonial violence – both in Aotearoa and elsewhere. The demands laid out in this letter are the bare minimum we could be asking of the institution that represents us. We amplify the call of our Palestinian counterparts, and we invite you, the University leaders, to join the collective struggle against settler colonialism, genocide, the denial of Palestinians' futures, and the silencing of their voices.

As the Israeli military continues its bombardment and siege on the people of Gaza and throughout Palestine, and the US government continues its support by sending weapons and bombs to drop on civilians, the world is being called upon to act. The genocide we have witnessed over the past 9 months is only the most recent escalation of Israel’s decades-long oppression of Palestinians. As of 26 June, 37,708 Palestinians have been killed, at least 5,000 women and 7,800 children. 1.7 million people are internally displaced, and a high risk of famine persists while over 500,000 people face catastrophic levels of food insecurity due to Israel’s blockade on aid entering Gaza (UNOCHA). The observance of human rights and the condemnation of acts that breach those rights, namely acts of violence and terror against civilians, is an important pillar of our democracy, enshrined in the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act. Speaking up has moral and political weight. Failure to call out acts of violence and terror against civilians is not a neutral position. Furthermore, New Zealand is a member of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, which requires us to take action to prevent genocide. Having leaders who call out these atrocities and call for action is important and impacts our collective well-being. International law is persuasive and relevant to your decision-making. New Zealand is a member state and is bound by UN resolutions. Numerous resolutions have been passed, the most recent being UN Security Council Resolution 2728, adopted on March 25, 2024, calling for a ceasefire. 145 of the 193 member states of the United Nations recognise the state of Palestine as a sovereign state. But NZ, together with our brotherhood of English settler-colonial states (Canada, US, Australia and UK), are part of preventing official recognition and Palestinian statehood, and thus, deny the Palestinian people the right to have rights. This must change! New Zealand governments have taken a strong stance on international issues in the past, for example, in opposing apartheid South Africa. We must continue this legacy.  We believe in our individual, collective and national moral responsibility to use our voice and power to stop the genocide. Many local bodies in Aotearoa and internationally are calling on governments to take decisive action. The more voices that join this call, the stronger it becomes.  None of us are free until all of us are free! Justice for Palestine!

It has come to our attention that Massey University is complicit in genocide. The Massey University Foundation has $64 million invested in managed funds, of which a spokesperson has confirmed $7,105 has been invested in Israeli Government Bonds over the last three months. Within those three months, the Israeli government has bombed schools, attacked health infrastructure, fired missiles into refugee camps, and prevented aid from reaching Gaza, weaponising famine and disease against the people of Palestine.  Even prior to your investment, Israel was already engaged in a programme of genocide. As of 6 June 2024, the World Health Organisation reported over 36,000 Palestinians killed— including more than 13,000 children—with more than 10,000 reported missing under rubble and 83,000 injured. Mass graves have been found outside Palestinian hospitals. Even these statistics are being reported as incomplete. These atrocities follow years of dispossession and systematic apartheid inflicted on the Palestinian people by the state of Israel. As of 2022, the people of Gaza already faced “inadequate access to clean water, sporadic electricity provision and [were] without a proper sewage system. Two thirds of the population lived in poverty.” This level of economic and infrastructural destruction at the hands of Israel meant 80% of the population were forced to depend on international aid to survive. Despite UN Resolution 194’s affirmation of Palestinian refugees’ right to return to their homeland, more than 6 million Palestinians live today in the diaspora, barred from their ancestral home. This Nakba (Catastrophe) has been ongoing for more than 76 years. Palestinians have been systematically slaughtered and expelled from their lands to make room for the expansion of illegal Israeli settlements, resulting in a settler-colonial system of oppression “maintained by Israel with the support of the international community.” This is what your investment condones and supports. Massey University, you are complicit in crimes against Gazans, against Palestinians, and against humanity. We, your students, including Palestinian students, pay you to receive an education we wish to be proud of, and you have used that money to help pay for genocide. As academics and university administrators from Gaza have reported after 8 months of incessant bombing, Palestinian civic infrastructure, schools, hospitals, libraries, museums and cultural centres - built by generations of Palestinians - currently lie in ruins. More than 5,479 students, 261 teachers, and 96 university professors have been killed alongside the destruction of all 12 universities in Gaza. Just as you have been cutting courses and jobs across your three campuses for ‘lack of funds,’ you have also been guilty of funding scholasticide in Gaza.   Neither outrage, nor disgust are able to convey the full extent of how we feel.  We make our demands on the back of a string of student activism across Aotearoa. On the 23rd of May, students from all three campuses joined university students across the country in the National Students Rally for Palestine. On the 14th of June, Massey University students at the Pukeahu campus painted over the walls of the Fine Arts block in protest of Massey University’s lack of stance against the prevailing genocide, leaving the following words addressed to staff: “The students have been asking. Disclose. Divest. Declare. Massey has refused to take a stance. And the staff have remained silent. Massey has defined their response as ‘appropriate’. There is nothing appropriate about ignoring the incomprehensible suffering of Palestinians.” We note the hypocrisy of your investment in Israeli Government Bonds as a signatory of both the UN Sustainable Development Goals, which commits to “Zero Hunger” and “Peace, Justice and Strong institutions,” and the UN Principles for Responsible Investment, which commits to better aligning investment activities with society’s environmental, social, and corporate governance interests. You have clearly failed to uphold a multitude of obligations: to your students, staff, and alumni, to Gazans and all Palestinians at large, and to Te Tiriti o Waitangi.  Are you truly acting as a Te Tiriti-led university as you claim? Aotearoa New Zealand, including its universities, including our university, has a responsibility to protect Indigenous people’s rights to sovereignty and self-determination around the world, under the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.This means advocating for Tino Rangatiratanga ki te ao - sovereignty for everybody. Both Palestine and Aotearoa have a shared history of injustice under settler colonialism. You have claimed you uphold Te Tiriti to a “new standard of excellence” in “analysis, practice and implementation initiatives across all areas of the university.” Already, at the national level, via Te Mana Akonga, Māori students across Aotearoa have expressed their complete opposition to the colonial state of Israel’s acts of genocide against tangata taketake in Palestine, unapologetically supporting a vocalised statement from tertiary institutions demanding an immediate and lasting ceasefire. A truly Te Tiriti-led university would join Māori students in recognising that there can be no true justice in Aotearoa without justice for Palestine.  Universities hold a significant platform and a large amount of power in our country. When you have such a platform with which to be heard, what you don’t say matters just as much as what you do. As such, rather than having a “right to remain silent,” we believe an institution responsible for teaching, producing, and sharing knowledge actually has a responsibility to speak up. It is, after all, enshrined in the Education Act 1989 that you be “the critic and conscience of society.” It is past time that institutions like Massey University use their privilege, their platform, and voice to help FREE PALESTINE.

We are a group of teachers (ECE, primary and secondary), head teachers, education support staff, principals, and union members from across Aotearoa. We stand together for the right of young Palestinians to life and education.  We work alongside learners every day. We consider their struggles, strengths, and the futures that their education lays the foundation for.  Consequently, the gravity of what children, students and educators in Gaza are going through hits home. Silence in the face of this unimaginable violence is not an option.   The UN Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Activities 15 May 2024 report over 14,500 Palestinian children have been murdered in the past 8 months. Israel’s war on Gaza has created what UNICEF termed as “the most dangerous place in the world to be a child.” Save the Children calculate that 2% of Gaza’s child population has been killed or injured.     UN experts are expressing grave concern over a pattern of attacks on schools, universities, teachers and students in Gaza have warned of a ’scholastacide.’  The term refers to the systematic and deliberate obliteration of education. We see this in the following:   • Of 625,000 registered students in Gaza no child has had access to formal education for half a year  • Relentless bombing has left the majority of school buildings damaged or destroyed  • 261 teachers and 95 university professors have been killed  • 1.4 million are now using schools and shelters while existing in the jaws of a man-made famine  • All 12 universities in Gaza have been destroyed  • The targeted destruction of education infrastructure endangers the educational future of an entire generation  • Mental health experts are warning that with homes, schools and family life ripped away, the psychosocial impacts on children are likely to be lasting  • 460 Palestinian children have been arbitrarily detained by Israel since 7 October, with some reporting starvation and abuse inside detention  Palestinians are among one of the most highly literate populations in the world. They are as deserving of dignity and futures as any other learners, anywhere else in the world. To be able to learn, children and students need not only schools, but food, water and basic safety. We know within the rubble and tents our education colleagues are doing all they can to preserve learning in make-shift classrooms, but the destruction must end.    We highlight the ongoing funding of UNRWA as part of our call. The New Zealand government just announced it would make its usual scheduled payment of $1 million to the agency. The World Health Organisation emphasised that no entity other than UNRWA has the capacity to deliver the scale and breadth of assistance that 2.2 million people in Gaza urgently need. New Zealand must continue to and expand its funding of UNRWA.  Our government has a range of diplomatic options to continue adding to the international pressure to end Israel's genocide in Gaza. Naming and condemning the deliberate bombing of schools and attacks on education by Israel in Gaza is a critical way to show moral leadership. The children of Palestine have a right to not only life, freedom and safety, but education. When these rights are under attack, we must act.     

As the Israeli military continues its bombardment and siege on the people of Gaza and throughout Palestine, and as the US government continues its support by sending weapons and bombs to Netanyahu to drop on civilians, the world is being called upon to act.  Whangārei is no different. We must act locally, and do everything we can in our town to grow support for the movement for justice and peace for Palestine. On the 27th of June 2024, The Whangārei District Council (WDC) will vote on a motion to call for an immediate, permanent ceasefire and resumption of adequate humanitarian aid to Gaza.  We aim to present WDC with a petition signed by as many locals as possible, to show the widespread local support in Whangārei for a permanent ceasefire, and encourage them to vote the motion through. Sign up and get your friends to do the same today!  About PSNW: Palestine Solidarity Network Whangārei (PSNW) is a group based in Whangārei, Aotearoa, working at a local level in solidarity with the Palestinian-led movement to advance the cause for justice, peace, freedom and the right to return for all Palestinians.  We have two guiding principles of our work: Solidarity. Palestinian Liberation must be Palestinian-led, and as a rōpū working in solidarity, our job is to find ways to further Palestinian-led struggles where we are at - not to determine what this liberation in itself means.  Decolonisation. Our rōpū works on the basis that the movement against Israeli colonialism in Palestine must be seen in tandem with global indigenous struggles, and specific to us, our home movement for Te Tiriti justice and Tino Rangatiratanga. Our organising must always work to respect the authority of mana whenua, uphold Te Tiriti o Waitangi, and where possible further the movement for Tino Rangatiratanga.  PSNW is proud to work closely with other solidarity rōpū in Te Tai Tokerau, and across the motu and has taken great inspiration from the successful motions made by the Far North District Council and the Whanganui District Council in calling for a permanent ceasefire in Gaza. Now it’s time for Whangārei to do the same! Ceasefire now!  

Most of us believe that every person, no matter our religion, where we come from, or what we look like, deserves to live with freedom, safety and belonging. We want all children to grow up surrounded by joy, laughter and opportunities. But for people in Gaza their days are full of starvation, death and desperation.  When an Israeli tank hit 6-year-old Hind’s car, her family died in front of her. She managed to call the Red Crescent, which sent an ambulance. The Israeli forces then attacked the ambulance, killing everyone inside. Hind, the little Palestinian girl, was found dead two weeks later in the car surrounded by the decomposing bodies of her family members. Hind was one of over 14,000 Palestinian children killed by Israel so far, not including those still buried under rubble. Israel is standing trial at the International Court of Justice, which found it is “plausible” that Israel has committed acts that violate the Genocide Convention. Under the Genocide Convention, to which New Zealand is a signatory, New Zealand has an obligation to prevent genocide. But we are yet to take any action of substance to preserve the lives of the thousands of innocent Palestinians being killed by Israel. The ICC Prosecutor is recommending arrest warrants be issued for Israeli leaders, saying: On the basis of evidence collected and examined by my Office, I have reasonable grounds to believe that Benjamin NETANYAHU, the Prime Minister of Israel, and Yoav GALLANT, the Minister of Defence of Israel, bear criminal responsibility for  the following war crimes and crimes against humanity committed on the territory of the State of Palestine (in the Gaza strip) from at least 8 October 2023: ·         Starvation of civilians as a method of warfare as a war crime contrary to article 8(2)(b)(xxv) of the Statute; ·         Wilfully causing great suffering, or serious injury to body or health contrary to article 8(2)(a)(iii), or cruel treatment as a war crime contrary to article 8(2)(c)(i); ·         Wilful killing contrary to article 8(2)(a)(i), or Murder as a war crime contrary to article 8(2)(c)(i); ·         Intentionally directing attacks against a civilian population as a war crime contrary to articles 8(2)(b)(i), or 8(2)(e)(i)...; ·         Extermination and/or murder contrary to articles 7(1)(b) and 7(1)(a), including in the context of deaths caused by starvation, as a crime against humanity; ·         Persecution as a crime against humanity contrary to article 7(1)(h); We can no longer stand by while our own government is complicit in an on-going genocide by Israel against the Palestinian people. Innocent children are being killed in the thousands. Israel has violated international law for decades with full impunity granted by Western governments like New Zealand. Israel has rained down some of the most advanced weaponry on 2.3 million captive civilians for 7 long months. Meanwhile, Minister Winston Peters has made no public commitment to delivering this year’s instalment of humanitarian funding to UNRWA despite a famine caused by Israel’s months long siege on Gaza. There is no time to waste in sending funding - and we should double it, at the very least. Famine is one of the weapons of genocide being used against the Palestinian people by Israel. Only UNRWA has the skills, the capacity and the personnel to deliver the massive humanitarian aid needed for 2.3 million Palestinians across Gaza - funding other groups will not be effective in ending the famine. Not only has New Zealand’s aid response been inadequate, there is also a possible connection between a New Zealand company and the weapons being used by Israel.  In April 2024, PSNA raised concerns with Minister Peters that New Zealand company Rakon may have supplied crystal oscillators to the US military which incorporated them into weapons (J-DAMs) they supplied to Israel (1).  In December 2023, Amnesty International reported that US-made J-DAMs were used by the Israeli military in two deadly, unlawful air strikes in Gaza (2). In May 2024, the US initiated a review of its J-DAM shipments to Israel, amid concerns that Israel may have used US-weapons in breach of international law (3). The New Zealand government has an obligation to investigate whether Rakon’s components could have been in these weapons used to breach international law in Gaza. Given the risk of complicity in serious breaches of international law, pending this investigation, the New Zealand government should also suspend exports of any components to the US military that may end up used by Israel.  New Zealand troops have been deployed to the Red Sea to support its ally, the United States of America in their activities in Yemen. Yemen is disrupting commercial shipments linked to Israel in an attempt to stop the genocide in Gaza. It doesn’t matter whether our troops are cleaning latrines or pressing the button. Their presence there means that New Zealand is actively supporting US activities in Yemen just to keep weapons flowing into Israel. On 18 May I, William Alexander, began a zero calorie hunger strike to call on the NZ government to stop supporting Israel's genocide of Palestinians. I’m asking them to take three meaningful actions: increase our funding for UNRWA;  investigate claims that NZ company Rakon may be supplying components for weapons used by Israel; and withdraw NZ troops from the Red Sea.  By doing these things the NZ Government can alleviate the suffering being inflicted on the Palestinian people and signal to political leaders around the world, including the US, that we need to stop supporting and enabling Israels acts of genocide. References: 1. https://thedailyblog.co.nz/2024/05/01/winston-peters-sidesteps-the-genocidal-elephant-in-the-room/ 2. https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2023/12/israel-opt-us-made-munitions-killed-43-civilians-in-two-documented-israeli-air-strikes-in-gaza-new-investigation/ 3. https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c4n14merj97o

We have a duty to the Palestinian and Israeli families within Invercargill and Southland community who are affected by these events. A community that respects international law and human rights ensures safety for everyone.  Upholding human rights and condemning violations, such as violence and terror against civilians, is fundamental to our democracy and protected by the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act. Voicing our concerns holds significant moral and political weight.  These events impact the well-being of Invercargill, even as we see families and children suffering extreme violence through daily media coverage. It is crucial for our leaders to denounce these atrocities and demand action, as this influences our collective well-being. Remaining silent on violence and terror against civilians is not a neutral stance. International law plays a crucial role in your decision-making. As a member state of the UN, New Zealand is bound by its resolutions. Numerous resolutions, including the recent UN Security Council Resolution 2728 adopted on March 25, 2024, call for a ceasefire. Many local bodies in New Zealand and abroad are advocating for a ceasefire and our country has a strong history of defending human rights. For example, in March 2022, the New Zealand parliament unanimously supported a motion to condemn the Russian government and stand with the people of Ukraine.  Known for its solidarity and support during times of crisis, Invercargill and Southland have a proud tradition of standing up for what is right. It is vital that we continue this legacy by ensuring our leaders speak out against these injustices.

We have a responsibility to the Palestinian and Israeli families living in this community who are impacted by these events. A community that upholds international law and human rights is a safer community for all. The observance of human rights and the condemnation of acts that breach those rights, namely acts of violence and terror against civilians, is an important pillar of our democracy, enshrined in the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act. Speaking up has moral and political weight. These events impact our community well-being of Whanganui, especially when we see on a daily-basis through the media, families and young children exposed to extreme acts of violence. Having leaders who call out these atrocities and call for action is important and impacts our collective well-being. Failure to call out acts of violence and terror against civilians is not a neutral position. International law is persuasive and relevant to your decision making. New Zealand is a member state and is bound by UN resolutions. There are numerous resolutions that have been passed, the most recent being UN Security Council Resolution 2728 adopted on the 25th of March 2024 calling for a ceasefire. There are a number of local bodies in Aotearoa/New Zealand and internationally who are calling for a ceasefire. The more voices that join this call the stronger it becomes. This council has a strong track record of standing up for human rights and condemning acts of violence against civilians. Most recently, in March 2022, the Whanganui District Council voted unanimously to support a motion to condemn the Russian government and stand by the people of Ukraine.

We seek that both councils align their procurement policy with UN Resolution 2334, and the obligations placed on member states by that resolution. There is no question that Israel is currently in breach of many international laws. As a starting place, Israel is illegally occupying Palestinian territory. UN resolution 2334 refers to the territory held by Palestine in 1967 and the illegal occupation of that territory by Israel. As an occupier state, Israel has legal obligations to protect Palestinians who live in their territory. Israel in is breach of these obligations by directly targeting and knowingly harming Palestinian civilians. Israel does not have the right to attack citizens whom they have a duty to protect. International agreements are not directly enforceable on crown agencies where their provisions have not been incorporated in domestic legislation. However, international agreements are significant even when they are not incorporated into domestic legislation as there is considerable political and moral force on governments to act in accordance with their international obligations. UN Resolution 2334 In resolution 2334, Israel was requested to cease all settlement activities in the occupied territory. In support of this, Clause 5 of the resolution calls upon all states to distinguish between the territory of the state of Israel and the territories occupied since 1967 in all dealings with the region. The Resolution was supported by the New Zealand government. Subsequently, in February 2020 the United Nations published a database of over 100 companies it considered were doing business in the Israeli settlements. On 1 July 2023, the United Nations reviewed the list and removed 15 companies from the list due to them having halted activity in the Israeli settlements. United Nations Resolution 2334 declared that all member states should not deal with organisations doing business in the illegally occupied Palestinian Territories, this includes Aotearoa/New Zealand. We call on our local government to align its procurement policy with UN resolution 2334.

Despite rulings from the UN General Assembly and the International Court of Justice, the state of Israel is continuing to kill Palestinians relentlessly in what are widely considered war crimes, including: - As of the 24th of March, 32,000+ Palestinians have been killed and 74,000+ injured. The majority of civilians killed (60%) are women and children[17]. - More journalists have been killed in this war than in other wars or events in the last 30 years. Before the Gaza war (Between 2001-22), at least 20 journalists were also killed by the IDF, with no one ever being charged or held accountable[18,19]. - More children have been killed in this war than in any global conflict in the last four years (between 2019 and 2022)[20]. - Gaza is experiencing the world's worst man-made hunger crisis[21]. As of March, the entire population in the Gaza Strip (2.23 million) is facing high levels of acute food insecurity[22]. Famine (the most extreme level of food deprivation) is imminent in central and northern Gaza. It is projected to increase between mid-March and May 2024, placing 70% (around 210,000 people) of the population at death's door. -As of the 21st of March, at least 56% of all buildings/structures in the Gaza Strip have been destroyed by the IDF. These include structures such as houses, housing units, schools and mosques[23]. Are these not sanction-worthy crimes? NZ also has legal obligations and must impose sanctions on the state of Israel for their flagrant violation of human rights, war crimes against the Palestinian people and for failing to comply with the ICJ rulings [24]. Legal obligations: International humanitarian law (IHL) -As of the 25th of March, The UN Security Council (for the first time) unanimously passed a resolution demanding an immediate ceasefire in Gaza during Ramadan[25]. The resolution is legally binding and requires immediate implementation by the international community to use all forms of leverage, like imposing sanctions and arms embargo on Israel, to make it comply with international law, e.g., ensure the protection of civilians[26]. Genocide Convention -All states parties to the Genocide Convention have a "common interest" in ensuring the prevention, suppression, and punishment of genocide. In their case, the ICJ also concluded that South Africa has a plausible case that Israel's acts could amount to genocide and that Palestinians are to be protected from genocide by Israel[27]. Hence, NZ has a legal obligation to do what it can to ensure that Israel complies with the court's orders. Good faith - NZ is legally obligated to act in good faith towards the ICJ ruling as it is a UN member. Stop waiting for an imaginary threshold to be reached to take action. Stop waiting for the genocide to become worse than it already is. Any help or sympathy at that point would be too little too late. We need immediate action from our leaders now! [1]https://www.icj- [2] https://euromedmonitor.org/en/article/6242 [3] https://www.legislation.govt.nz/act/public/2022/0006/latest/whole.html [4] https://www.oxfam.org.nz/news-media/israel-government-continues-to-block-aid-response/ [5] https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2024/3/23/israels-war-on-gaza-live-netanyahu-brushes-off-blinken-over-rafah-attack?update=2793464 [6] https://twitter.com/UNLazzarini/status/1771917857598693549?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1771917857598693549%7Ctwgr%5E8a216506fe64bd17cd998bf5cebea06d6e1bb114%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fenglish.almayadeen.net%2Fnews%2Fpolitics%2Furnwa-chief-outraged-by-israeli-ban-of-food-convoys-to-north [7] https://www.unrwa.org/what-we-do/relief-and-social-services/unrwa-registered-population-dashboard [8]https://www.icc-cpi.int/sites/default/files/RS-Eng.pdf [9]https://twitter.com/antonioguterres/status/1771653572846870970?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1771653572846870970%7Ctwgr%5E066f539f2170a28f1c1f50144c44defb5930588d%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.aljazeera.com%2Fnews%2Fliveblog%2F2024%2F3%2F24%2Fisraels-war-on-gaza-live-19-killed-as-israel-again-fires-on-aid-seekers [10]https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/aid-trucks-entering-gaza-must-double-meet-basic-needs-wfp-says-2024-03-06/ [11] https://edition.cnn.com/2024/03/01/middleeast/gaza-aid-israel-restrictions-investigation-intl-cmd/index.html [12]https://apnews.com/rafah-gaza-population-surge-photos [13]https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/dec/07/idf-israel-gaza-refuge-zones-cruel-mirage-say-aid-agencies [14]https://peacenow.org.il/en/the-israeli-government-declares-8000-dunams-in-the-jordan-valley-as-state-lands [15] https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/3/7/israels-illegal-west-bank-settlement-plans-face-global-condemnation [16]https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/campaigns/2019/01/chapter-3-israeli-settlements-and-international-law/ [17]https://healthcluster.who.int/countries-and-regions/occupied-palestinian-territory [18]https://www.npr.org/2023/12/03/1215798409/palestinian-journalists-killed-gaza-israel-hamas-war [19] https://cpj.org/reports/2023/05/deadly-pattern-20-journalists-died-by-israeli-military-fire-in-22-years-no-one-has-been-held-accountable/ [20] https://turkiye.un.org/en/263401-gaza-number-children-killed-higher-four-years-world-conflict [21] https://www.oxfam.org/en/press-releases/gaza-hunger-figures-worst-record-says-oxfam [22] https://www.ipcinfo.org/fileadmin/user_upload/ipcinfo/docs/IPC_Gaza_Strip_Acute_Food_Insecurity_Feb_July2024_Special_Brief.pdf [23] https://www.conflict-damage

Israel’s long running siege of the Palestinian territories and its current destruction of Gaza are illegal under international law. This has been well documented in UN Security Council and General Assembly Resolutions, International Court of Justice and International Criminal Court rulings, and by international legal experts and human rights organisations. On 12 December 2023, the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) – a federation of 188 human rights organisations from 116 countries – stated that Israel’s actions against the Palestinian people constitute an unfolding genocide and that states and individuals who provide assistance to Israel are rendering themselves complicit. They called on the International Criminal Court to immediately issue arrest warrants for Israeli officials who are responsible for international crimes against Palestinians. Under international law, all states including New Zealand have the individual obligation to prevent atrocity crimes. Currently, however, the New Zealand Government is ignoring national and international appeals to preserve human life and uphold international law. The Government appears oblivious to the serious humanitarian violations taking place, including the murder of civilians in refugee camps, churches, schools, hospitals and UN facilities. And it has said nothing about Israel bulldozing people as they sleep in their tents, or the collapse of the health system, spread of disease and unfolding famine. This makes our country complicit in the war crimes of genocide, targeting civilians and civilian infrastructure, and denying the right of a people to self-determination. New Zealand has traditionally taken a strong moral position on serious injustices around the world, including acting to end apartheid in South Africa and to stop the genocide in Rwanda. New Zealand also recognised universal jurisdiction as a well-established principle of international law in 2018. This provides a legal basis for States to prosecute and punish war crimes and crimes against humanity, regardless of where the conduct occurred and the nationality of the perpetrator. We must therefore ask our Government to show the moral courage to stand up to these crimes against humanity and take immediate action.