Te Pāti Māori co-leader Debbie Ngarewa-Packer has condemned Israel’s newly passed death penalty law targeting Palestinians as a calculated escalation in the ongoing genocide of the Palestinian people.

The Knesset passed the law on 30 March mandating death by hanging for Palestinians in the occupied West Bank convicted of killing Israelis while explicitly exempting Israeli citizens from the same punishment.

“The western world has enabled Israel to the point that they are now legalising their own war crimes,” said Ngarewa-Packer.

“This is genocide and apartheid written into law. Aotearoa must call it exactly what it is and act immediately.”

With a 90-day execution timeline and severe restrictions on appeals, this law is designed to kill Palestinian detainees faster and with less scrutiny. It operates through military courts with a 96 percent conviction rate based largely on confessions extracted under torture.

As of March 2026, 9,500 Palestinians are held in Israeli prisons, roughly half without trial. More than 80 have died in custody.

“Ben-Gvir celebrated with champagne. Luxon and Peters must show a moral backbone for once and distance Aotearoa from this atrocity.”

Ngarewa-Packer is calling on the New Zealand Government to:

1. Publicly condemn this law as a war crime
2. Recall the New Zealand Ambassador to Israel
3. End military cooperation with the United States and Israel
4. Sanction Israel
5. Recognise the State of Palestine

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