Source: Asia Pacific Report
Asia Pacific Report
A leading Palestine advocacy group in New Zealand has given the government a “please explain” message after news reports that the Pacific islands Forum (PIF), the region’s main political body, have admitted Israel as a sectoral partner.
According to 1News, the decision was made under a new two-tier partnership model, with Israel engaging at ministerial rather than leaders’ level.
The Forum Secretariat had not publicly announced the decision when the report was published.
- READ MORE: ‘Serious questions to answer’ – Labour slams Luxon over Israel’s Pacific Islands Forum move
- Israel approved as second-tier partner in Pacific Islands Forum
- Israel joins Pacific Islands Forum as development partner
- Other Israel and the Pacific reports
New Zealand, along with Australia, is one of 18 members of the Forum and will host next year’s Leaders’ Summit.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is wanted on an International Criminal Court (ICC) arrest warrant for war crimes and crimes against humanity, and Tel Aviv is widely condemned for its genocide in the besieged Palestinian enclave of Gaza with at least 75,000 people killed.
Both Netanyahu and New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon face elections within the next few weeks.
Four questions
Palestine Forum chair of New Zealand Maher Nazzal has called on Luxon and Foreign Minister Winston Peters to answer four questions:
- What position did New Zealand take on Israel’s application?;
- What advice did the Government receive on the diplomatic, legal and human rights implications?;
- Did New Zealand raise Israel’s conduct in Gaza and the occupied Palestinian territories during its consideration?; and
- What safeguards will ensure the partnership does not undermine the Forum’s commitments to human rights, peace and self-determination?
“These are reasonable questions, and New Zealanders are entitled to clear, public answers,” Nazzal said.
“Cooperation cannot replace accountability.”
Israel has signalled interest in cooperating with Pacific states on water, agriculture, climate adaptation and innovation.
“These matter to Pacific communities. But technical cooperation must not shield any state from scrutiny under international law,” Nazzal said.
‘Consistent principles’
“PFNZ respects the sovereign right of Pacific nations to make their own diplomatic decisions. Our concern is not with the people of Israel, or with cooperation that genuinely benefits the Pacific.
“It is with consistent principles and meaningful accountability, whichever state is involved.”
Nazzal said Pacific peoples understood what land, identity and self-determination meant. That was why the Palestinian experience of displacement and occupation resonated across the region.
“PFNZ urges the government to show that its commitment to a rules-based order applies consistently, and encourages Pacific civil society and communities across Aotearoa to engage in informed discussion,” he said.
“The question is not only who may join a regional forum. It is whether the principles that guide that forum are upheld consistently.”
Original source: https://analysis1.mil-osi.com/2026/10/21/please-explain-palestine-forum-tells-nz-over-israeli-pacific-islands-forum-partnership/