An aerial view from Sheikh Ridwan in Gaza City, Gaza, shows the heavy destruction left behind after the Israeli army withdraws following a ceasefire agreement. Photo / Getty Images
An aerial view from Sheikh Ridwan in Gaza City, Gaza, shows the heavy destruction left behind after the Israeli army withdraws following a ceasefire agreement. Photo / Getty Images
A New Zealand Defence Force officer is on the ground in Israel to report back to the Government on the progress being made towards a peace deal in Gaza, responding to an invitation from the United States.
In a statement, Defence Minister Judith Collins confirmed the NZDF officer had beendeployed for six weeks and was working from the United States’ Civil Military Co-ordination Centre in Israel, opened on October 17.
Collins described the centre as a “co-ordination hub for support to Gaza”, which would monitor the implementation of a ceasefire and promote the current peace plan designed to end Israel’s war with Hamas in Gaza.
“The deployment will improve New Zealand’s understanding of co-rdination efforts on the ground and enable us to better assess options for any potential future contributions to the centre or other initiatives in support of sustained peace in Gaza,” Collins said.
Speaking to the Herald, Collins said New Zealand had been invited by the United States to send a representative to join others from the likes of the US, Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom and France, which all had personnel based at the centre.
Asked why the US had made the request of New Zealand, Collins noted it was important to “have several countries involved” in monitoring the conflict resolution.
“I know that our people are very valued and our partner nations don’t expect us but they would like us to assist.
“It’s a useful thing for us to go and see if there’s something we could be doing,” Collins said, acknowledging it was good for New Zealand to be seen to be contributing.
Defence Minister Judith Collins made a statement late today. Photo / Mark Mitchell
While she didn’t know whether the Defence Force officer would set foot in Gaza, Collins said they would provide valuable information about the prospect of peace given New Zealand currently didn’t have a “line of sight”.
Collins wouldn’t give any details about the officer, describing their rank as “senior enough”. She hadn’t yet received a briefing from the officer.
“We’re not sending a junior.”
She claimed it was too early to indicate what support New Zealand could provide.
The deployment was expected to conclude by the end of November or early December. Collins indicated it was more likely than not the six-week deployment wouldn’t be extended.
Collins admitted ceasefire implementation had hit some “snags” but believed it was “certainly better than it was”.
“Anything that starts to move toward some form of normality and a two-state solution ... it is very important that we don’t get overly excited.”
Adam Pearse is the Deputy Political Editor and part of the NZ Herald’s Press Gallery team based at Parliament in Wellington. He has worked for NZME since 2018, reporting for the Northern Advocate in Whangārei and the Herald in Auckland.
