Scoop has an Ethical Paywall
License needed for work use Register

World Video | Defence | Foreign Affairs | Natural Events | Trade | NZ in World News | NZ National News Video | NZ Regional News | Search

 

Palestinian Community In Aotearoa Media Statement

The Palestinian community in Aotearoa New Zealand strongly condemns the recent Israeli air raids on the besieged Gaza Strip, resulting in the loss of over 1537 innocent Palestinian civilians, including over 500 children - at the time of this statement release.

The Israeli Defence Minister, Yoav Gallant, announced a “total siege” of the already besieged Gaza, including a ban on admission of water, food, electricity, and fuel. The collective punishment of all Palestinians in Gaza is a crime against humanity and must be halted immediately.

While preparing this media statement, Israel has called for over half the population of Gaza to evacuate their homes, there are already over 400,000 People in Gaza who have been forced to leave their homes due to the ongoing attack on Gaza.

The developing situation is a reaction to 75 years of dispossession of Palestinians (over 70% of Gaza’s residents are Palestinians who were expelled by Israel from other areas during the 1948 war), apartheid across the illegally occupied territories, and the 17 years of illegal inhumane besiege of Gaza

On May 11, 2022, Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh, who was a dual Palestinian-American national, was killed by an Israeli sniper while covering an Israeli raid in the Jenin refugee camp, and Israel has not been brought to justice for her murder. 7 Palestinian journalists have also been murdered by Israeli airstrikes in the current attack on Gaza.

Doctors Without Borders, (Medecins sans Frontieres, also known by its acronym MSF), said it had counted 16 medical personnel killed since Saturday, 18 ambulances destroyed and eight medical facilities partially or totally damaged..

Advertisement - scroll to continue reading

Are you getting our free newsletter?

Subscribe to Scoop’s 'The Catch Up' our free weekly newsletter sent to your inbox every Monday with stories from across our network.

This Israeli far right government led by supremacists PM Netanyahu, and Itamar Ben-Gvir, is committing ethnic cleansing, apartheid and genocide against native innocent civillian Palestinians on a daily basis.

There is no mention from our NZ government of the Palestinian rights to freedom, justice and self-determination. The dehumanization of Palestinians must cease immediately. Palestinian lives also matter.

The international community must insist that Israel, as an occupying force, adhere to international law. Israel has taken pleasure in their impunity for too long, and it is time for the world to hold it accountable.

Numerous UN resolutions have condemned Israel's violations of international law, including war crimes and crimes against humanity. Leading international human rights organizations, such as Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, and Bet ‘Salem have also published reports of Israeli apartheid policies. It is incumbent upon the world to exert pressure on Israel to end its occupation, colonial expansion, and apartheid practices.

Earlier this year, Amnesty International published a report highlighting the West’s “double standards” on global human rights.

The situation in the occupied West Bank is equally serious. More than 750,000 Israelis live in illegal settlements in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem. Since 2010, over 3,000 Israeli settler attacks have killed and injured hundreds of Palestinians across the occupied West Bank.

In Jerusalem, thousands of Israeli settlers continuously have been carrying out provocative tours of the Al Aqsa Mosque as well as growing harassment and intimidation against both Muslim and Christian Palestinians.

This is a humanitarian crisis that must come to an end. What’s happening is not a war, it’s a massacre. The time to mobilize the support for the Palestinian cause is now more than ever.

Restoring international legality, accountability and respect for humanity and dignity of all must prevail, including an end to Israel’s military occupation of Gaza and West Bank. There is no peace without justice.

The next New Zealand Government has a historical obligation to build on the work of Former Minister of Foreign Affairs of New Zealand Murray McCully to bring peace and justice to Palestinians.

© Scoop Media

Advertisement - scroll to continue reading
 
 
 
World Headlines

 
UN News: Aid Access Is Key Priority

Among the key issues facing diplomats is securing the release of a reported 199 Israeli hostages, seized during the Hamas raid. “History is watching,” says Emergency Relief Coordinator Martin Griffiths. “This war was started by taking those hostages. Of course, there's a history between Palestinian people and the Israeli people, and I'm not denying any of that. But that act alone lit a fire, which can only be put out with the release of those hostages.” More


Save The Children: Four Earthquakes In a Week Leave Thousands Homeless

Families in western Afghanistan are reeling after a fourth earthquake hit Herat Province, crumbling buildings and forcing people to flee once again, with thousands now living in tents exposed to fierce winds and dust storms. The latest 6.3 magnitude earthquake hit 30 km outside of Herat on Sunday, shattering communities still reeling from strong and shallow aftershocks. More

UN News: Nowhere To Go In Gaza

UN Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric said some 1.1M people would be expected to leave northern Gaza and that such a movement would be “impossible” without devastating humanitarian consequences and appeals for the order to be rescinded. The WHO joined the call for Israel to rescind the relocation order, which amounted to a “death sentence” for many. More


Access Now: Telecom Blackout In Gaza An Attack On Human Rights

By October 10, reports indicated that fixed-line internet, mobile data, SMS, telephone, and TV networks are all seriously compromised. With significant and increasing damage to the electrical grid, orders by the Israeli Ministry of Energy to stop supplying electricity and the last remaining power station now out of fuel, many are no longer able to charge devices that are essential to communicate and access information. More

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Join Our Free Newsletter

Subscribe to Scoop’s 'The Catch Up' our free weekly newsletter sent to your inbox every Monday with stories from across our network.