The government’s decision to sanction Israeli cabinet ministers is a cynical diversionary gesture, according to the Palestine Solidarity Network Aotearoa.

New Zealand has joined the UK, Australia, Canada, and Norway in banning the entry of Israel’s Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir.

PSNA Co-Chair, Maher Nazzal, says the just announced move is simply to placate New Zealanders angry at the government’s complicity with the mass killing of Palestinians and deliberate starvation of Occupied Gaza.

“The New Zealand government statement was quite explicit that the sanctions were ‘not designed to sanction the wider Israeli government’ of which Ben-Gvir and Smotrich are ministers.”

“The New Zealand government's official statement is laying the blame for Israeli barbarity on just two ministers. Our government is pretending that they alone are responsible for the military violence in the Gaza Strip, and Israel's annexation of Palestinian land, expanding settlements, and forced displacement.”

“All these war crimes are supported and stated by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his government. These measures are all being carried out by the Israeli government. These two ministers are quite rabid, but they are not just freelancers or ‘bad apples’.”

“Netanyahu himself is wanted for trial on war crimes charges, so why does he escape the travel ban?”

Nazzal says Ben-Gvir and Smotrich would never plan to come to New Zealand anyway.

“The last time such an individual visited in 2006 the Auckland District Court issued a warrant for his arrest to face war crime charges.” (That was Israeli General Moshe Ya’alon – the ‘Butcher of Qana’. The warrant was quashed by the then Attorney-General Michael Cullen)

“Even if the government sanctioned the entire Israeli cabinet, it would be meaningless.”

“Israel has made Gaza hell on earth for Palestinians, and is making it worse by the hour. We should be cutting trade ties – including military technology, which might be finding its way to Israel, or sending up satellites from Mahia used by Israel to spy on Gaza.

“New Zealand has bilateral agreements with Israel over science and movie-making. They should stop.”

“The government needs to ban Israeli soldiers coming here for genocide holidays, instead of Winston Peters going out of his way to welcome them.”

“And it goes without saying that the Israeli ambassador should be booted out.”

Nazzal says the forced starvation in Gaza has reached a crisis point.

“The choice for the international community is stark. Let tens of thousands starve to death in the next few weeks, or impose a no-fly zone over Gaza and provide military protection for UNRWA aid convoys.”

“In that context, by limiting the travel options for two Israeli politicians our government feels like it’s conveying a message of “Look busy – New Zealanders are angry, we must be seen to be doing something, but really, we don’t care.”

Maher Nazzal
Co-Chair PSNA

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