Foreign Minister Winston Peters has stated that the entire group of Hamas must take responsibility for the October attacks, which has made it challenging for the New Zealand government to differentiate between the military and political branches of the organization. The attacks on October 7 resulted in the deaths of 1,200 people, and the subsequent Israeli air and ground campaign in Gaza, which is governed by Hamas, has led to the deaths of approximately 30,000 Palestinians.
Following these events, New Zealand has made it illegal to engage in property or financial transactions with Hamas or provide any form of material support to the group. The country has also frozen any Hamas assets within its borders. Despite these measures, New Zealand will still offer humanitarian aid and future development assistance to civilians in Gaza and provide consular support to its citizens or permanent residents in the conflict zone.
New Zealand’s opposition to Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories, which are deemed illegal under international law, remains steadfast. The country’s government supports the establishment of a future Palestinian state through a negotiated two-state solution and stresses the importance of ending the current conflict and restarting the Middle East peace process.
National leader Chris Luxon has also expressed concerns about the escalation of extremist violence by Israeli settlers against Palestinians, noting that this further destabilizes an already volatile situation. In light of these developments, New Zealand continues to advocate for a peaceful resolution to the conflict in the region.
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