Wellington: Opposition lawmakers in New Zealand on Wednesday sought the expulsion of an Israeli envoy from the country and imposed economic sanctions on Tel Aviv, according to Radio New Zealand (RNZ).
According to Anadolu Agency, the call for the Israeli envoy's expulsion came a day after Wellington joined its allies in imposing sanctions on two right-wing Israeli Cabinet members. Greens co-leader Chloe Swarbrick described Israeli actions in Gaza as "genocide" and urged the ruling coalition government to support her bill in parliament and impose economic sanctions on Israel. Swarbrick said the US pushback was "probably precisely part of the reason that our government has been so scared of doing the right thing," describing it as "cowardice on the government's part." She further emphasized that, at a bare minimum, the Israeli ambassador should be expelled, Palestinian statehood should be recognized, and a special category of visas for Palestinians should be introduced.
Swarbrick criticized the government's recent sanctions against two Israeli ministers as "symbolic," lamenting that it had taken nearly two years to reach this point. On Tuesday, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Norway, and the UK sanctioned Israel's finance minister and national security minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich, "for inciting violence against Palestinians in the West Bank."
Debbie Ngarewa-Packer, co-leader of Te Pati Maori, referred to the latest sanctions as "political hypocrisy," questioning why the government was only sanctioning two ministers instead of the whole of Israel. She urged the New Zealand government to suspend all diplomatic ties with Israel, impose sanctions on Israeli companies and military officials, and provide additional support to international courts. Packer described the situation as not just a war but an "annihilation," expressing deep concern over the extent of violence and the ongoing occupation.
New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon defended his country's decision to join other countries in imposing sanctions on Israeli ministers, stating that New Zealand "would not be backing down."