Members of Global Sumud Aotearoa Delegation come to Wellington this week to challenge the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Winston Peters, over Government inaction following the abduction and mistreatment of New Zealand citizens by the Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF/IDF) in both 2025 and in May 2026.
Unlike Australia, France, Spain, Malaysia, Türkiye and other countries, New Zealand and its Israel First Foreign Minister Winston Peters have failed to launch a government investigation into the mistreatment of New Zealand citizens.
The Australian Federal Police (AFP), under instruction from Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong, have now launched an investigation into rape and torture by Israeli forces on Australian citizens who were detained in international waters.
“Knowing we were coming to Wellington, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs sent us an email yesterday asking us to provide information on what happened to our activists,” Rana Hamida of Global Sumud Aotearoa said. “The message was that they would put this to the Israelis – in other words: they will leave it to Israel to be both the criminal and the judge. That’s not good enough. Malaysia, for example, is taking Israel to the International Court of Justice over the kidnapping and violence dished out to their citizens.”
Returning Sumud member Hāhona Ormsby, who endured multiple beatings by the Israelis after being seized in international waters and taken to Israel, says, “Calling in the Israeli ambassador and slapping him with a wet bus ticket over tea and scones does not count as meaningful action.”
The government has treated people like Ormsby as a “threat” whilst doing nothing to hold Israel to account.
“I had two detectives come and interview me this week to assess if I was a “threat”. Imagine that? I joined the Sumud flotilla armed with nothing other than aroha and I – a New Zealand citizen – get treated as the problem! But some Israeli soldier fresh from killing women, children, and babies in Gaza and Lebanon knows they can holiday in New Zealand no questions asked. Hey, Winston, are you Israel First or New Zealand First?” Hāhona Ormsby asked.
Global Sumud Aotearoa is demanding that the New Zealand government launch its own non-Israeli-led investigation. New Zealand should coordinate with the other governments who have already launched inquiries into the attack on their citizens.
A first step would be for the government to formally interview our returning activists. Second, the government should liaise with the Turkish authorities who sent planes to Israel to bring over 400 detained Sumud activists to safety in Istanbul. It should be noted New Zealand provided absolutely no support whatsoever to their citizens.
All the Sumud people who were flown out of Israel, including the New Zealand citizens, were given medical examinations and forensic interviews in Türkiye. Some, including Hāhona Ormsby and fellow Kiwi Mousa Taher, received hospital treatment for their injuries. MFAT requesting medical records from Türkiye would be a useful place to start.
Below is a detailed response to Israeli propaganda that ludicrously suggested that the black eyes, broken noses and ribs inflicted on citizens from over 40 countries was an elaborate hoax. The photo of the damaged face of New Zealand citizen Julien Blondel, beaten by Israelis in an attack in international waters on April 29, should have triggered immediate action by the government. The Israelis, realising that New Zealand and other Western governments stood with them, not their own citizens, increased the level of violence in their June attack on over 50 vessels.
New Zealand First should mean standing up for our citizens not providing cover for Israeli crimes. New Zealand should also stand up for the suffering people of Palestine and Lebanon and demand that the United Nations Charter and the Genocide Convention be upheld and enforced.