Prime Minister Christopher Luxon hits out at Israel over Gaza famine, will not hasten Palestinian statehood decision

Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has called for aid to be let into Gaza. Photos / Getty Images / Mark Mitchell

Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has called on Israel to allow “unfettered access” to Gaza for humanitarian agencies, particularly those of the United Nations.

Luxon’s comments responded to a report from the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC), an organisation backed by the United Nations, declaring half a million people – a quarter of the Palestinians in Gaza – were suffering from famine.

The group declared the situation “entirely man-made” owing to Israel’s obstruction of food entering the Gaza Strip.

The report said any further delay to aid getting into Gaza “even by days” would “result in a totally unacceptable escalation of famine-related mortality”.

In response to the report, UN aid chief Tom Fletcher said the famine was entirely preventable. In remarks reported by the BBC, he said food could not get through to the Palestinian territory “because of systematic obstruction by Israel”.

In a statement reported by the BBC, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said, “Israel does not have a policy of starvation, Israel has a policy of preventing starvation.”

Luxon said New Zealand did not want Israel “moving into Gaza city” and continuing its settlement of the West Bank, which he said undermined the possibility of a two-state solution to the conflict.

“The annexation of Gaza is not something we support at all,” he said.

“What we’re seeing around the settlements being accelerated into the West Bank which is extinguishing the possibility of the two-state solution,” Luxon said.

Luxon said he wanted to see Hamas release hostages and Israel to offer humanitarian agencies unfettered access to Gaza “to be able to get in there and provide the food they need to”.

Luxon said “90% to 94% of Gaza is absolutely destroyed”.

Recent developments in the conflict would not cause him to accelerate the Government’s deliberations on whether to formally recognise a Palestinian state, Luxon said.

Most United Nations countries have recognised a Palestinian state at the United Nations, but New Zealand and countries such as Australia, the United Kingdom, Canada and the United States have not.

This is set to change, with a raft of countries, including France, the UK, Canada, and Australia, making plans to recognise a Palestinian state.

Foreign Minister Winston Peters earlier this month initiated a Government proposal to formally consider doing the same.

A decision will be made in September. If New Zealand opts to recognise a state, Peters will do so when the United Nations General Assembly meets in New York that month.