An Israeli minister touring the Pacific to discuss defence and cooperation says Fiji and Papua New Guinea are “great friends”.

Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister Sharren Haskel recently visited the two countries and RNZ Pacific spoke with her during a brief stop in Auckland.

She said the main goal of her trip was to thank PNG and Fiji for their support, including the opening of embassies in Jerusalem.

Israeli Minister Haskel speaks to RNZ on Pacific visit     Video: RNZ

“It was an important message for our people and it was a great opportunity for me to thank them in person and to see how we can strengthen our friendship.”

The countries were “strategic allies” who worked together in the areas of agriculture, water technology and cybersecurity, Haskel said.

She pointed to the agricultural industry in PNG.

“They used to import almost all of their products, vegetables, fruits,” she said.

Agricultural help
“There are a few Israeli companies that went into the industry, developing a lot of the agricultural aspect of it to the point where all of the products they’re eating are local and they’re even exporting some of these products.”

Israeli farms there had also helped with the growth of the local dairy industry, she said.

“This is part of the collaboration that we want to do,” she said. “I came with a delegation of businessmen coming from those industries to see how can continue and develop it, it’s a win-win situation.”

An agreement with Fiji has been expanded to see more agricultural students sent to Israel for an 11-month paid internship.

Also while in Fiji, Haskel signed a memorandum of understanding on cybersecurity.

She said that came after three hacking attacks on the Fiji government’s system.

“[The MOU] starts a dialogue between our cybersecurity agency and between the proper agencies in Fiji as well,” she said.

Cybersecurity experience
““This is something that they’re starting to build, we’ve got a lot of experience with it and I think the dialogue can give them and lot of advice and also to connect them to quite a few Israeli companies.”

A representative from Israeli defence and security company Elbit was among the delegation.

“They have a lot of cybersecurity systems so it’s a start of a building of a relationship,” Haskel said.

Israel’s relationships with PNG and Fiji had been going for many decades, and were not about the amount of aid given, she said.

“Israel is not a major economic power that has a lot of money to spend, especially during times of war,” she said.

“It’s not about the amount of money that we can invest but the quality and the things and how it affects the people.”

Commitments honoured
Asked about aid projects that had been cancelled, Haskel said Israel had honoured any commitments it made. It was not responsible for changes to United States policy that had seen trilateral agreements cut, she said.

“There were many projects that were committed in many different countries, together Israel and the Americans, some are continuing and some are cancelled,” she said.

“This is part of [US President Donald] Trump’s policy. We can’t predict that.”

Haskel also met with people from indigenous, Christian and farming communities while in Fiji and PNG and she said Israel is also hoping to become and observer of the Pacific Islands Forum next year.

The PNG government said it continued to regard Israel as a valuable partner in advancing shared development goals.

Meanwhile, Fiji’s government said the “historic” visit between the nations would foster continued cooperation, innovation and friendship.

‘Strategic step’
Prime Minister Rabuka said the cybersecurity agreement was “a strategic step forward to strengthen Fiji’s security framework and promote deeper cooperation across sectors”.

Israel’s influence in the Pacific has been under the microscope recently, including around the United Nations vote supporting Palestinian statehood.

It follows years of wrangling between superpowers China and the United States over aid and influence in the region.

Oliver Nobetau, a Papuan development expert at the Australian Lowy Institute, told RNZ Pacific that Israel wanted to lock in UN support for the future.

“I think they have demonstrated their support, but also may have an ability to sort of sway between votes,” he said.

“We’ve seen it, between the switching from recognition from China to Taiwan. And this can be another instance now where they can be persuaded to vote in a different way.”

On aid, Nobetau said there would now be a hope that Israel increased its aid to the region.

“I would say there’s an expectation on Israel to carry on or fill in that funding gap,” she said.

“The question now falls on the Pacific governments themselves, if this is something that’s worth pursuing . . .  they would prefer, if the USA are now is out of the picture, if Israel can continue to fill that.”

Nobetau expected Israel to look at bringing its military and intelligence services closer to the Pacific.

“From what I recall, when I was working with the government, there were institutional exchanges with the Mossad: internal capabilities to collect intelligence is something that’s that’s needed within Pacific countries,” he said.

“So I think that could be another area as well.”

This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

Fiji opening an embassy in Jerusalem last month in defiance of United Nations resolutions on Occupied Palestine and hosting a visit by a senior Israeli minister from the paraiah state this week has revived condemnation by Pacific human rights groups and Palestinian advocates.

Deputy Foreign Minister Sharren Haskel visited the Philippines, Papua New Guinea and Fiji — where she welcomed a possible “peacekeeping” role — in a week-long Pacific friendship mission.

She also faced controversy in New Zealand over the trip.

Both Fiji and Papua New Guinea have opened controversial embassies in Jerusalem, recognised as the capital of Palestine when statehood is granted.

The NGO Coalition on Human Rights in Fiji has condemned Fiji’s coalition government for “callously ignoring the unfolding famine and mass starvation in Gaza”, saying it was being “deliberately orchestrated” by Israel in a statement.

The statement was issued before the opening of the embassy and the declaration of a Gaza ceasefire brokered by President Donald Trump and three mediating Middle East countries.

While Israel has violated the fragile ceasefire several times in the past two weeks, killing at least 100 Palestinians, the International Court of Justice has made a nonbinding ruling that Israel must support UN relief efforts in Gaza, including those conducted by the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA).

Embassy entourage
The NGOCHR statement by chair Shamima Ali, dated September 9, criticised widespread reports in Fiji media that Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka would take “an entourage of 17 government officials and spouses” to officially establish the residential Fijian embassy.

“The coalition government appears to be callously ignoring the unfolding famine and mass starvation in Gaza that is being deliberately orchestrated by the state of Israel,” she said.

“This very same Fiji government previously defended the destruction, killing, and maiming of scores of thousands of innocent civilians — 70 percent of them women and children — by Israel at the International Court of Justice [in an earlier and ongoing case on genocide].”

Shamima Ali highlighted the visit in August by two World Elders — Mary Robinson (former President of Ireland and former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights) and Helen Clark (former Prime Minister of Aotearoa New Zealand and former Head of UNDP) — to the Rafah crossing into Gaza from Egypt.

They had witnessed how Israel was preventing the flow of food, water, and medicine to the suffering people of Gaza, and declared it as an “unfolding genocide” — “this is not the chaos of war, nor the result of an environmental disaster. It is intentional.”

Ali said Prime Minster Rabuka, and ministers Lynda Tabuya and Pio Tikoduadua had made “rather unconvincing arguments” about opening of the Fijian embassy in Jerusalem on September 18 amid the unfolding genocide in Gaza.

“Whether they like it or not, in the eyes of the world, Fiji will be seen as a country that supports the apartheid and pariah state of Israel, and its genocide in Gaza,” the statement said.

‘Not in our name’
Ali said the NGOCHR reiterated its “Not in our name” opposition to Fiji’s defence of Israel at the ICJ in a case brought by South Africa accusing Israel of committing genocide.

It also declared its strongest “Not in our name” opposition to the establishment of the Fiji Embassy in Jerusalem.

“Neither action reflects the wishes of all citizens of Fiji. It does not reflect well on Fiji for the present coalition government to be effectively supporting Israel’s genocide in Palestine.”

Members of the Fiji NGO Coalition on Human Rights are Fiji Women’s Crisis Centre (chair), Fiji Women’s Rights Movement, Citizens’ Constitutional Forum, femLINKpacific, Social Empowerment and Education Program, and Diverse Voices and Action (DIVA) for Equality Fiji.

Pacific Network on Globalisation (PANG) is an observer.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

A leading Palestine solidarity and advocacy group in New Zealand has accused an Israeli cabinet minister of “sneaking” into the country this weekend while on a Pacific tour as
Israel resumed its genocidal attacks.

Deputy Foreign Minister Sharren Haskell visited the Philippines, Papua New Guinea and Fiji — where she welcomed a possible “peacekeeping” role — in a week-long Pacific friendship mission.

Both Fiji and Papua New Guinea have opened controversial embassies in Jerusalem, recognised as the capital of Palestine when statehood is granted.

“It seems clear from media reports that Haskell is visiting Auckland this weekend as part of a trip to strengthen ties with New Zealand and other Pacific countries,” said Palestine Solidarity Network Aotearoa co-chair Maher Nazal.

He said in a statement that he would expect New Zealand Foreign Minister Winston Peters to “have had, or will be having, a secret meeting” with Haskell.

“Haskell wouldn’t come to New Zealand unless she was having a meeting with
Peters. Otherwise, it would be a diplomatic snub,” Nazzal said.

“Haskell wouldn’t tolerate that, and Peters is most unlikely to snub Israel.

“But if he’s turned her down, we’d love to hear about it.”

Mocking Luxon
The visit by Haskell is in spite of recently mocking Prime Minister Christopher Luxon with some sarcastic comments that New Zealand’s “worst enemies were cats and possums”, when Luxon said her boss, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, had “lost the plot” in the genocidal war on Gaza.

Nazzal said: “The trip is a ‘thank you’ visit for New Zealand refusing to recognise Palestine [statehood]. Haskell had appointments with the governments of Fiji and Papua New Guinea earlier this week.

“They are the only two countries in the world, other than the United States, which both voted in the United Nations last year against requiring Israel to leave the Occupied Palestinian Territory, and they also have an embassy in Jerusalem.

“They are the greatest fans of Israel outside the United States.”

At a media conference in Suva on Wednesday, Haskel said Fiji’s neutral and highly skilled military could play a valuable role in future peacekeeping efforts once negotiations on Gaza’s next phase were complete.

“I have to say that we do trust the Fijian forces,” she said during the joint press conference with Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka.

‘Skilled, neutral military’
“We know that you have very skilled military forces that are neutral, which is something especially important for peacekeeping.

“We know this is a force you can trust, with skills, with morals and we’ve had close collaboration throughout history in many posts around the Middle East and surrounding our borders as well.”

She was referring to Fiji’s long UN history as a Middle East peacekeeping force, but admitted that the Gaza role would not be through the United Nations.

“Israel is using starvation as a weapon of war against Palestinians and withholding New Zealand aid from the people of Gaza,” Nazzal said.

“Why would we put out the welcome mat for a representative of such a monstrous regime?”

Haskell was recently interviewed by “genocide-denier Sean Plunket” on his radio show The Platform saying she would like to visit to “thank the New Zealand government for its support over the last two years”.

“That says it all. New Zealand has stood resolutely with a racist, apartheid regime as it continues to commit genocide against the Palestinian people – two years and counting,” Nazzal said.

Seven embassies in Jerusalem
Last month, Fiji inaugurated its embassy in Jerusalem — becoming the seventh nation to have its diplomatic mission in the city in defiance of the United Nations policy.

The other countries are: Guatemala, Honduras, Kosovo, Paraguay, Papua New Guinea and the United States.

Other nations that maintain ties with Israel have their embassies in Tel Aviv.

Papua New Guinea inaugurated its embassy in Jerusalem last year.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has expressed “deep gratitude” for Papua New Guinea’s support to his country over many years and during the Middle East conflict.

Prime Minister James Marape was given the message directly yesterday by Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister Sharren Haskel during a courtesy call at Melanesian House, Waigani.

The support by PNG, Fiji and a handful of other Pacific nations is controversial in the face of Israel’s growing global pariah status over its two-year genocidal war on the besieged enclave of Gaza that has killed more than 68,000 Palestinians.

A fragile ceasefire is in place between Israel and the liberation movement Hamas with the last 20 living Israeli captives being released last week in exchange for almost 2000 Palestinian prisoners, most of them held without charge.

Last month, the UN General Assembly endorsed a landmark declaration in support of an independent State of Palestine, with 142 votes in favour.

Ten countries voted against, half of them from the Pacific — Micronesia, Nauru, Palau, PNG, and Tonga — while the only other countries supporting Israel and its backer United States, were Argentina, Hungary and Paraguay. Twelve countries abstained.

Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister Haskel highlighted Prime Minister Marape’s earlier decision to open the PNG embassy in Jerusalem instead of Tel Aviv — the first Asia Pacific country to do so — and for supporting Israel at the UN, report the Post-Courier and the PNG Bulletin.

“My visit here was specifically addressed by the Prime Minister [Netanyahu] to see how we can strengthen our friendship further, and to say ‘thank you’ for standing beside us especially in the last two years,” she said.

‘Darkest hours’
“These have been some of our darkest hours since 7 October 2023 . . .

“And you have been one of the most outstanding friends we have standing together on the international front, on bilateral relationship, and in international forums.

She said the people of Israel were “extremely grateful” for the opening of the PNG embassy in Jerusalem.

“This is acknowledgement of our history, our tradition, and of us — the Jewish people — who are the indigenous people of the land of Israel; that we are able to return to revive our religion, culture and language in our ancestral homeland,” Haskel claimed.

She said Netanyahu had requested that the visit to PNG and the Pacific should proceed without delay.

Prime Minister Marape reaffirmed Papua New Guinea’s commitment to the bilateral relationship, highlighting that PNG recognised Israel’s “rights to the land of Israel through its Judeo-Christian worldview”, and continued to recognise Jerusalem as the “eternal” capital of Israel through the PNG embassy.

He added that the embassy opening had encouraged other Pacific countries — such as Fiji — to also establish their diplomatic missions in Jerusalem.

Only four other countries have done so.

Haskel reconfirmed Israel’s commitment to continue assisting PNG in the fields of science and technology, agriculture, health, small business development, and women’s empowerment.

During her two-day visit to PNG, Haskel and her delegation are meeting with ministers in respective fields.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz