Justice for Palestine
1,000 signatures reached
To: Minister of Defence, Judith Collins, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Winston Peters, and Prime Minister, Christopher Luxon
Withdraw NZ from US operation supporting Israel’s war on Gaza
We demand New Zealand end its involvement in the US and UK-led military operation in the Red Sea which is risking lives and aligns us with US support for Israel’s war on the people of Gaza.[1]
We are opposed to NZDF involvement in the Red Sea because it enmeshes NZ with US militarism and Israeli war crimes, it is hypocritical and risky, and has no democratic mandate.
Why is this important?
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.
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