Organisers say more than 200 people turned out to take part in a Gaza protest at Heipipi Park, Gisborne, on Saturday.
About 200 people turned out for a protest at Heipipi Endeavour Park in Gisborne during a national day of action for Palestine on Saturday.
“The focus of the rally and hīkoi through Tūranga was to demand immediate action from the Government to uphold international humanitarian law,” a press release from Jane Luiten for Tairāwhiti Stands With Palestine said.
“Messages from the community about what is happening in Gaza were placed inside bottles addressed to East Coast MP Dana Kirkpatrick.”
The Green Party has launched a member’s bill to sanction Israel.
According to the Green Party and Tairāwhiti Stands With Palestine, the bill had the support of Labour MPs and Te Pāti Māori and required only six coalition MPs to support it to bypass the member’s bill ballot biscuit tin process.
“New Zealand signed on to the Geneva Conventions in 1950 and has been party to multiple protocols to protect civilian populations since. International law is a code of conduct between nation states,” Luiten said.
“You don’t get to pick and choose when to apply it. What is happening in Gaza is not a tragedy. It’s a crime against humanity. In the circumstances, the Government’s lack of response amounts to complicity.
“Whānau in Egypt are throwing bottles of food into the Mediterranean in the hope they will reach starving whānau in Gaza. We are sending our messages in a bottle to Dana in the hope that she, too, will be moved to do her bit to end the deliberate starvation in Gaza.”
In response to the calls to sanction Israel, the Israeli embassy in New Zealand gave a statement.
“Israel deeply regrets every innocent life lost. Israelis know this pain personally. Hundreds of our own civilians were murdered, and dozens have been held hostage by Hamas for over 680 days, deliberately abused and starved by the terrorists,” the ambassador’s statement read.
“To describe Israel’s actions as ‘crime against humanity’ or ‘deliberate starvation’ is wrong and misleading. These claims are copied from Hamas propaganda. We should remember that Hamas is a terror group designated under New Zealand law, which systematically embeds fighters and weapons among civilians, precisely to drive up casualties.
“The tragedy in Gaza stems from Hamas waging cruel war from hospitals, schools, and crowded neighborhoods – not from Israel’s defence of its people. Israel has facilitated unprecedented aid: over 2 million tonnes of supplies and 230 million ready-to-eat meals.
“Hamas has seized fuel, stolen aid and food shipments and sold them, and starved the hostages it still holds. Starvation is not Israel’s policy; it is Hamas’s weapon.
“Sanctioning Israel would not promote peace. It would reward Hamas’s atrocities, embolden further terrorism, and “punish” the region’s only democracy. If groups in New Zealand want to make a real difference, they should pressure Hamas – still holding Israeli hostages and treating 2 million Palestinians as human shields – to lay down its weapons, release the hostages and leave Gaza. That is the real path to possible peace process.”
Kirkpatrick said she was “just as appalled” by the situation in Gaza as anybody.
“The situation in Gaza is horrific, and the humanitarian crisis is particularly galling for all of us,” Kirkpatrick said.
“The October 7 attacks by Hamas were abhorrent, but the response has gone too far. It is time for a ceasefire, not further military action. We need food and aid to reach Gaza, not more soldiers and missiles.”
Kirkpatrick said the New Zealand Government had called for a ceasefire and had sent millions in aid.
“Our Government has consistently called on both sides to respect international law, including the protection of civilians and vital infrastructure such as hospitals,” she said.
“New Zealand has also sent $37.25 million in aid to address urgent humanitarian needs. The best course of action now is the immediate resumption of humanitarian assistance, and for both parties to engage to restore a ceasefire.”
New Zealand was working with other nations to help broker peace, Kirkpatrick said.
Cabinet will make a formal decision in September on whether New Zealand should recognise a state of Palestine.
On Facebook, Tairāwhiti Catholic highlighted a message from Father Gabriel Romanelli of Gaza’s only Catholic parish, Holy Family Church, located in northern Gaza.
In July, an Israeli strike hit the church, killing three people.
“We remember the people of Palestine in our prayers every Sunday,” Gisborne parish priest Father Mark Field said.
“The plight of the Catholic parish in Gaza is something that we are naturally very concerned about. Our Parish Council has discussed ways that we can be more involved.”
Field said they had encouraged parishioners to contribute through Caritas Aotearoa New Zealand – a New Zealand and international Catholic charity that helped in areas affected by war and disasters.