New Zealand won’t recognize Palestine in break with partners

New Zealand’s government said it won’t recognize a Palestinian state for now, an unexpected move that puts it out of step with traditional partners such as Australia, the UK and Canada.

“With a war raging, Hamas remaining the de facto government of Gaza, and no clarity on next steps, too many questions remain about the future State of Palestine for it to be prudent for New Zealand to announce recognition at this time,” Foreign Minister Winston Peters said in a speech to the United Nations General Assembly in New York on Friday. Still, New Zealand’s position remains “that it is a matter of when, not if we recognize the State of Palestine,” he said.

New Zealand’s surprise decision puts it at odds with a growing chorus of Western nations, which formally recognized a Palestinian state in the lead-up to the UNGA meeting. Peters spoke just hours after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu slammed those countries, saying the message it sent to Hamas was that “murdering Jews pays off.”

France became the latest major nation to recognize the State of Palestine on Monday, following the UK, Canada and Australia.

Peters said New Zealand will maintain its current position of supporting a two-state solution and Palestinian self-determination. Later, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said at a press conference that the conflict in the Middle East will only end through a ceasefire reached through negotiation.

“New Zealand is neither pro-Palestine nor pro-Israel,” Luxon said in Auckland Saturday, hours after Peters’ UN speech. “We want to see two states, Israel and Palestine, living in peace and security, and that will only happen through negotiation, dialog, diplomacy and leadership.”

New Zealand’s main opposition Labour Party said the government’s refusal to recognize Palestine as a state is “an embarrassment” that “puts our country on the wrong side of history.”