Palestine has endured more than 70 years of illegal occupation, blockades, forced displacements, bombings, and indiscriminate killings of men, women, children, and infants, all with impunity. The recent widespread bombing of refugee camps, places of worship, medical facilities, schools, and the killing of innocent civilians in Gaza flagrantly violates international human rights standards and the Geneva Conventions, constituting an act of ethnic cleansing. These actions are part of a broader systematic effort by Israel to forcibly displace Palestinians from their legitimate homeland.
Mr. Azad Khan asserts that the current situation in Gaza amounts to state-sponsored terrorism and ethnic cleansing, with apparent support from the United States. The atrocities have escalated to the point where Gaza is under a complete siege, leading to widespread starvation due to food and water shortages resulting from Israel blocking the free flow of humanitarian aid into Gaza.
Furthermore, the Israeli military’s attacks on Palestinian civilians in densely populated areas have caused significant loss of life and can be characterised as collective punishment. Spanish Minister Ione Bellara has voiced strong condemnation of the ongoing Israeli bombardment of Gaza, referring to Israeli PM Netanyahu as a ‘war criminal’ and calling for European leaders to sever diplomatic ties with Israel.
The Aotearoa New Zealand’s Government’s silence on the thousands of Palestinian deaths, over two-thirds of them women and children, in the ongoing Israeli ethnic cleansing in Gaza fails the Palestinian people and perpetuates injustice and instability in the world. FAIR urges the New Zealand Government to issue a resolute condemnation of these assaults and immediately sever diplomatic relations with Israel until it abides by the relevant international laws and principles.
We would also like a unanimous Parliamentary motion designating Israel as an apartheid state based on the recent findings of a Human Rights Watch investigation, similar to the Parliamentary motion taken in respect of the Uyghur people’s experience of severe human rights abuses in China.”
