Source: Palestinian Solidarity Network Aotearoa (PSNA)
PSNA welcomes the decision of the International Criminal Court to issue arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant.
“The warrants mean for the first time Israeli leaders face accountability for war crimes which have been live-streamed on social media for the past 13 months” says PSNA National Chair John Minto.
“We are waiting for our government to announce it will arrest Netanyahu and Gallant immediately if they set foot in Aotearoa New Zealand”
“It’s a breath of fresh air from the stultifying refusal of New Zealand and other western governments to act against the perpetrators of industrial-scale slaughter of Palestinian civilians”, says John Minto. “This ICC decision is a wake-up call for our government which can no longer stay silent”
“New Zealand has been a staunch ally of the US/Israel throughout the past 13 months when it should have been a staunch defender of international law”
“Unbelievably, our government still refuses to call for an immediate, permanent ceasefire and while it has condemned every act of Palestinian resistance, it has refused to condemn any of the egregious Israeli war crimes which are the subject of the arrest warrants”
In response to the ICC decision New Zealand should immediately end support for Israel to continue its war crimes such as
- Suspend all satellite launches by Rocket lab for BlackSky Technology, Capella Space, and HawkEye 360. These companies provide imaging data used by Israeli for its targeting of civilian infrastructure in Gaza and Lebanon (See 13 November PSNA media release)
- Suspend and independently investigate the export of crystal oscillators from Rakon Industries which end up in bombs used for war crimes in Gaza and Lebanon.
Sanctions against Israel are also essential and the ICC decision can be the trigger.
“New Zealand needs to act as we did when the ICC issued arrest warrants against Russian leader Vladimir Putin for the invasion of Ukraine” says John Minto. “New Zealand imposed immediate and wide-ranging sanctions against Russia and must follow through with Israel”.
