New Zealand’s third largest city imposes sanctions on Israel over illegal Palestinian settlements

Asia-Pacific report

Christchurch, New Zealand’s third-largest city, today became the first local government in the country to impose sanctions on Israel, voting to stop doing business with organizations involved in illegal settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territories.

It passed a resolution to change its procurement policies to exclude companies that build and support illegal Israeli settlements on Palestinian land.

It was a largely symbolic gesture, as Christchurch (pop. 408,000) does not currently do business with any of the companies listed by the United Nations as involved in illegal settlements.

However, the vote also eliminates any future City Council business dealings with such companies.

The vote on sanctions followed impassioned appeals to the council by John Minto, president of the Palestinian Solidarity Network Aotearoa (PSNA), and Canterbury University postcolonial studies lecturer Dr Josephine Varghese.

“We are pleased that the council has taken a stand against Israel’s continued theft of Palestinian land,” Minto said in a statement welcoming the vote.

He called on the council to take action against companies found by the UN Human Rights Council to be involved in the construction and maintenance of illegal settlements.

“The failure of Western governments”
“It was the failure of Western governments to hold Israel accountable, which means Israel has a 76-year history of oppression and brutal violence against Palestinians.

“Israel is wreaking havoc across the Middle East today because it has never been held accountable for 76 years of egregious violations of international law,” Minto said.

“The proposal accepted today by the City of Christchurch helps end Israeli impunity for war crimes.” (Building settlements on occupied lands owned by others is a war crime under international law)

“This proposal is a small but important step towards imposing sanctions against Israel. There are many more steps to follow.”

The council’s vote in support of the UN policy was greeted with applause from the packed crowd. Before the vote, gallery members displayed a “Stop Genocide” banner.

Minto called the decision an important step toward aligning with international law and supporting Palestinian rights.

“In terms of the Council adopting a policy consistent with UN Security Council Resolution 2334, that resolution was co-sponsored by the New Zealand government back in 2016,” Minto said, referring to a UN resolution that said Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territories “had no legal effect.” and constituted a flagrant violation of international law.”

“Distractions and Obfuscations”
In a statement, Minto said: “We are particularly pleased that the council has rejected the distractions and confusion of Jewish Council of New Zealand spokesman Ben Kepes, who has urged council members to reject the proposal.”

“Mr Kepes’s presentation was a repetition of outdated, old arguments used by white South Africans to avoid responsibility for their apartheid policies of the last century – policies that are reflected in Israel today.”

Dr Varghese said more than 42,000 Palestinians – at least 15,000 of them children – have been killed in Israel’s war with the Gaza Strip.

“Boycotting products and services that support and benefit colonization and apartheid is a long-standing peaceful means of protest used by freedom fighters around the world, not only by black South Africans against apartheid, but also in the struggle for Indian independence. In the light of Gandhi,” she said.

“This is a rare opportunity for us to follow in the footsteps of these great men and take a historic step not only for Christchurch City, but also for Aotearoa New Zealand.

“March 15, 2019 (the day of the New Zealand mosque massacre that killed 51 people) we made headlines for all the wrong reasons, and today could be the opportunity for us to make headlines around the world for the right reasons,” Dr. Varghese said.