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The Australia/Israel & Jewish Affairs Council (AIJAC) today hailed New Zealand ’s announced policy of delaying recognition of a Palestinian state until it can better contribute to a two-state resolution as principled, sensible and firmly “rooted in empirical realities.”

AIJAC Executive Director Dr Colin Rubenstein stated, “The approach to recognising ‘Palestine’ announced by New Zealand Foreign Minister Winston Peters in his speech to the UN General Assembly on Saturday – waiting for a ‘future situation’ when this one-off move would do more to advance a two-state resolution – was both principled and sensible. It also seems much more firmly rooted in the empirical realities on the ground – with Hamas still holding hostages and still in control of most of Gaza, while citing recognition as an achievement for its campaign of mass murder and terror of October 7, 2023 – than the approach of countries like Australia and the UK, which insist against all evidence that their recent recognition of the currently non-existent state of Palestine somehow advanced peace.

“The points Peters made in his UN speech as to why recognition will likely prove counterproductive at this time seem simply irrefutable. As he noted, ‘there is no fully legitimate and viable State of Palestine to recognise.’ Meanwhile, as Peters added, Hamas is portraying ‘recognition of Palestine as a victory,’ and is ‘resisting negotiation in the belief it is winning the global propaganda war’ – meaning ‘recognition could complicate efforts to secure a ceasefire.’ It seems extremely obvious that it makes much more sense to reserve recognition for ‘when conditions offer greater prospects for peace and negotiation than at present’. As New Zealand PM Chris Luxon correctly summed up his Government’s position on the issue, ‘Now is not the time.’

“The moral clarity provided by Foreign Minister Peters and PM Luxon only underlines the ill-advised and counter-productive nature of the decisions on recognition taken by our own leaders, who can hopefully learn from their Kiwi colleagues in their future decision-making on these issues,” Rubenstein concluded.