Statement - Welcoming Advancement in Positions of Australia and Aotearoa NZ; Calling for Concrete Actions
Official Statement:
Welcoming Advancement in Positions of Australia and Aotearoa NZ; Calling for Concrete Actions
The General Delegation of Palestine to Australia, Aotearoa New Zealand and the Pacific welcomes the statement by the Hon Anthony Albanese MP, Prime Minister of Australia, which represents a further advancement in Australia’s position regarding the catastrophic humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip and Israel’s punitive blockade of food and water and medicine and electricity, and all other essentials of life – characterised by Prime Minister Albanese as being “completely unacceptable”, and “outrageous”. The General Delegation of Palestine likewise welcomes the strengthening of Aotearoa New Zealand’s position, reflected in recent comments by Foreign Affairs Minister the Rt Hon Winston Peters condemning Israel’s ongoing denial of humanitarian aid as “intolerable”.
The General Delegation of Palestine also acknowledges and expresses appreciation for Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand’s recent signing of a joint international statement demanding the full resumption of humanitarian aid into Gaza, accusing Israel of politicising the delivery of essential food and medicine to starving Palestinian civilians, and rejecting annexation and ethnic cleansing through forced displacement.
The situation in Gaza is unbearable and necessitates immediate action to halt Israel’s ongoing brutality and grave violations of international law. At this critical and intolerable stage, words are simply not enough.
As stated by Ambassador Majed Bamya, Deputy Permanent Observer of the State of Palestine to the United Nations, before the Security Council: “The children of Gaza have no use for our outrage if it is not accompanied by actions that could actually stop the killing, feed the hungry, heal the wounded, and save those who can still be saved.”
It is our hope and expectation that Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand will take concrete action to pressure Israel and ensure accountability and adherence to International Law, including International Humanitarian Law. Further, that they will continue their cooperation with the international community towards securing an immediate ceasefire and ensuring delivery of life-saving humanitarian aid to civilians throughout the Gaza Strip.
The General Delegation of Palestine stresses that focused efforts to alleviate the enforced humanitarian crisis in Gaza will not be effective or sustainable unless they are linked to a political pathway and provide hope to the Palestinian people. The upcoming international conference in June on the peaceful settlement of the question of Palestine and the implementation of the two-State solution will be an important opportunity for states, including Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand, to meaningfully contribute in this regard.
We believe that Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand can both play leadership roles in advancing the international mobilisation against Israel’s unjust and unlawful policies of collective punishment, annexation, ethnic cleansing, and illegal settlement expansion. This includes by recognising the State of Palestine without further delay, safeguarding the two-state solution, contributing to the upholding of international law, and supporting the inalienable right of the Palestinian people to self-determination, towards securing a just and lasting peace in the Middle East.
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