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Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced and applauded the first phase of the US-led peace deal between Israel and Hamas.
The agreement has been brokered strongly by US President Donald Trump.
It follows a post at 11.51am (New Zealand time) from Trump on his social media platform, Truth Social.
“I am very proud to announce that Israel and Hamas have both signed off on the first Phase of our Peace Plan.
“This means that ALL of the hostages will be released very soon, and Israel will withdraw their Troops to an agreed upon line as the first steps toward a Strong, Durable, and Everlasting Peace.
“All Parties will be treated fairly!,” Trump said.
“This is a GREAT Day for the Arab and Muslim World, Israel, all surrounding Nations, and the United States of America, and we thank the mediators from Qatar, Egypt, and Turkey, who worked with us to make this Historic and Unprecedented Event happen!”
New Zealand Foreign Minister responds
Peters says,“over the past two years, both Israelis and Palestinians have suffered immensely. Today is a positive first step in bringing that suffering to an end.
“We commend the efforts of the parties involved in the negotiations, including the US, Egypt, Qatar, and Türkiye.
“We said in New York two weeks ago that countries with leverage over the situation needed to step up and show leadership. We commend them for doing just that.”
Peters says New Zealand has “long called for the release of all the hostages and for a ceasefire, so that the immense suffering can end. The parties must now deliver on their promises.
“Hamas needs to release all of the hostages and Israel must withdraw their troops to the agreed-upon line.”
Peters called the agreement an “essential first step towards achieving lasting peace.”
“We urge Israel and Hamas to continue working towards a complete resolution.
“There has been a lot of protest in New Zealand over the past two years relating to the situation in Gaza. We look forward to all those protestors, and their political allies in Parliament, joining the Government today in applauding the deal that has been struck.”
A week ago, the head of the Pukekohe Islamic Centre, Rashid Khan, told the Franklin Times he is ‘sad’ the New Zealand Government refused to recognise Palestine as a sovereign state.
Foreign Minister Winston Peters declared New Zealand’s stance on Palestine at the convening of the 80th United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) at UN headquarters in New York on September 27.
“With a war raging, Hamas remaining the de facto government of Gaza, and no clarity on next steps, too many questions remain about the future State of Palestine for it to be prudent for New Zealand to announce recognition at this time,” Peters said in a statement on October 4.
“We are also concerned that a focus on recognition, in the current circumstances, could complicate efforts to secure a ceasefire by pushing Israel and Hamas into even more intransigent positions.”
Khan, who is the secretary and trustee of the Pukekohe Islamic Centre, said New Zealand’s position on Palestine is like “crushing humans with concrete.”
“It will lead to more oppression in Palestine. What Israel is doing is not supported by all of the UN. They [Israel] should not be doing it.”
“We, as a community, are very sad about it. We don’t know what’s going to happen. Palestine used to be a free state, and we support a free state of Palestine.”
