Labour pledges Palestine recognition and sanctions on Israel, pressuring coalition on Gaza stance
Labour leader Chris Hipkins says a future Labour government would join sanctions against Israel and formally recognise Palestine, calling the coalition government's position on Gaza "an embarrassment to the country" (RNZ).
Hipkins said New Zealand is "missing in action" on Gaza and that "there is an unfolding genocide happening." He said the government's position had been "weak for the last three years" and was failing to meet New Zealand's obligations under the international protocol against genocide — the convention countries sign to commit to preventing and punishing genocide (RNZ).
Under Labour's proposal, New Zealand would sanction Israel alongside like-minded countries including the UK, Canada and France. Those three nations were preparing to ban imports from Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank. British Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband said Israel was turning a blind eye to the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians (RNZ).
The government's position, confirmed by a spokesperson for the Prime Minister, aligns with Foreign Minister Winston Peters' statement that New Zealand has not traditionally used trade measures to address foreign policy issues. Peters made that statement in response to calls for New Zealand to ban imports from Israeli settlements (RNZ).
Waikato University law professor Alexander Gillespie said the government was wrong not to join the trade sanctions, pointing to what he called an inconsistency in New Zealand's approach. New Zealand had used trade measures to influence foreign policy during the Russia-Ukraine conflict, backed by an opinion from the International Court of Justice (ICJ) — the United Nations' highest court. That creates a contradiction with its refusal to do the same on Israel, Gillespie said. He noted New Zealand had positioned itself alongside Australia in declining to join sanctions (RNZ).
Gillespie said imposing sanctions on Israel would take "a considerable amount of work" but was achievable, noting 12 other countries had joined together to do so. He also said New Zealand's non-recognition of Palestine was partly behind its decision not to join sanctions, since recognising Palestine means agreeing to the right of Palestinian people to govern themselves. He flagged that US President Donald Trump could complicate matters by backing Israel and introducing further trade tariffs against countries sanctioning the occupied territories (RNZ).
ACT leader David Seymour, whose party is in coalition with National and NZ First, said the government was concerned about Israeli settlements that breached international law. Seymour separately described Hamas as "the centre and the cause of this problem" in Gaza (RNZ).
Labour's commitment builds on the party's position since October 2023, when it pledged to recognise the State of Palestine if re-elected (Middle East Monitor). Hipkins described recognising Palestine as "the right thing to do," framing it as a moral stand over Israel's actions in Gaza (The Conversation). The party's official release, "National Govt an embarrassment on Palestine," stated that recognition of Palestine and sanctions on Israel would send a clear message that New Zealand will not stand by while Israel acts (Labour Party). Labour MPs have marched in support of sanctions on Israel (Labour Party), and the party officially endorsed a United Nations report accusing Israel of genocide, pushing for sweeping sanctions including a full ban (NZ Labour Party, Facebook).
The National government announced in August 2025 that it would formally consider Palestinian statehood in September of that year, a step Labour said further delayed meaningful action (Labour Party). Peters has delivered three ministerial statements on Gaza in the House, during one of which a procedural exchange took place between Speaker Gerry Brownlee and Hipkins (RNZ).
Public opinion adds another dimension. An RNZ poll found more than 40% of New Zealanders want the country to recognise Palestine (RNZ). Hipkins said the coalition was not in touch with public sentiment on the conflict, including on recognition (RNZ). A UN finding of genocide in Gaza has added to the pressure on New Zealand to recognise a Palestinian state (RNZ).
The broader context here is a widening gap between New Zealand and several of its closest intelligence and trading partners. Britain, France and Canada have moved toward concrete trade measures against Israeli settlements, and Hipkins is positioning Labour to bring New Zealand into alignment with that bloc. The coalition, by contrast, has held to Peters' position that trade measures are not an established tool of New Zealand foreign policy, despite the precedent Gillespie identifies from the Russia-Ukraine sanctions regime.
Gillespie's point about the ICJ opinion backing the Russia sanctions is the sharpest edge of the legal critique. If sanctions can be grounded in international legal findings in one context, the argument runs, the absence of equivalent action in the face of a UN genocide finding creates a vulnerability the government has not publicly addressed. That gap is likely to be tested in the election campaign, where foreign policy positions that once sat at the margins of voter concern are now polling above 40% on the recognition question alone.
The Trump factor Gillespie raises adds a real-time complication. If the US administration moves to impose tariffs on countries sanctioning Israeli settlements, New Zealand's export-dependent economy would face a different cost calculus than the European nations already signed on. Peters' reluctance may reflect that exposure, though he has not framed it in those terms.
What remains unresolved is whether the government's September 2025 consideration of Palestinian statehood will produce a decision before the election, or whether it will remain another ministerial statement in a sequence Labour is now characterising as delay.
