Open Letter to Hon. Murray McCully

Open Letter to Hon. Murray McCully, NZ Foreign Affairs Minister Palestine Human Rights Campaign Aotearoa/New Zealand - 14 November 2010

Dear Mr McCully,

Thank you for your reply to my email of 15 July 2010 and subsequent open letter of 19 September. Israel stands in violation of 65 United Nations Resolutions relating to the Palestinian right of return of refugees, the status of Jerusalem, Israel's borders and assaults on Israel's neighbours. Israel continues to build (so-called negotiations notwithstanding) a wall that annexes ever more Palestinian land and it has never stopped the expansion and population growth of its illegal colonies. All this contravenes the UN Charter and the 1949 Fourth Geneva Convention Relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War. Israel refuses to recognise the right of return of Palestinian refugees solely upon the grounds that these refugees are not Jewish.

UN General Assembly Resolution 3236, passed on 22 November 1974, declares the right of return to be "inalienable". Please allow me to ask you straightforward questions: Does the New Zealand Government recognise the Palestinian people's right of return to be inalienable? If it does recognise that right, then clearly the right of return cannot be negotiated away. If, on the other hand, the New Zealand Government does not recognise the Palestinian right of return, how many other human rights does the New Zealand Government consider to be negotiable?

In your reply you state that the "New Zealand Government maintains a balanced, constructive and even-handed approach to [what you describe as] the Arab-Israeli conflict". 'Balance' and 'even-handedness' may be appropriate in such matters as minor border disputes between equals. But even-handedness where a population lies defenceless under what is recognised in international law as 'belligerent occupation' is worse than inappropriate; it amounts to collusion with the actions of the vastly more powerful occupying power. One small step could be taken by the New Zealand Government to show its impartiality and that would be to allow Palestinians the visa-free visiting rights that are accorded Israeli citizens. The Palestine Human Rights Campaign renews its invitation to you to do just that.

The reference to Israel's boarding of a civilian ship in international waters merely as an "incident" is a surprising understatement, especially as your letter recognises that the killing of nine civilians was "tragic". Has the New Zealand Government ever referred to rocket attacks from Gaza as 'incidents'?

You say in your reply that, "The recent resumption of direct peace talks is an important step" towards finding "a solution to ending the Israeli-Palestinian conflict." It is a gross injustice to demand that Israel's defenceless victims negotiate with their oppressor, nuclear-armed Israel, while still under military occupation and on such unequal terms. At the very least, if there were any justice, Israel should be required to end the occupation before any prospect of negotiations could be considered.

In any case, it seems that the terms of reference for "negotiations" are set by Israel. Regarding the illegal settlements, Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu is on record as saying "we're here to stay". On East Jerusalem, Israel asserts that the whole city is Israel's eternal and indivisible capital. The so-called peace talks are left, therefore, it seems with no other purpose in Israel's eyes, than for the Palestinians under duress to negotiate away their remaining human rights.

It is incumbent upon Israel to abide by international law and it is the duty of the international community to enforce that law in the interests of humanity, stability and peace. Affording Israel diplomatic immunity at the UN and granting favourable economic associations, such as the recent admission of Israel to membership of the OECD, have served only to send signals of approval to the occupying power. The present course is destabilising and plays into the hands of extremists. The growing Boycott Divestment and Sanctions movement (BDS) has emerged as civil society's non-violent response to the failure of politicians and governments to stand unequivocally in defence of the rule of law. New Zealand could gain much respect - and make an invaluable contribution towards stable international relations - by proposing the imposition of United Nations sanctions designed to provide the incentives necessary for Israel to end its intransigence.

Without pressure, Israel will feel that it can continue to extend its territorial gains and resulting economic advantages with impunity. The proof of this assertion lies in the decades of fruitless negotiations that have done nothing better than to buy time for Israel to continue making territorial gains while imposing grievous suffering upon the Palestinian people. The world community has a duty of care towards the Palestinian people who are being denied, through no fault of their own, the basic norms of life that most of us take for granted.

Your sincerely,

Leslie Bravery

Palestine Human Rights Campaign Aotearoa/New Zealand

14 November 2010

The full text of Mr McCully's letter follows:

Leslie Bravery

Palestine Human Rights Campaign Aotearoa New Zealand

lorca@clear.net.nz

Dear Leslie Bravery,

I refer to your email of 15 July 2010 and subsequent open letter of 19 September regarding dialogue between New Zealand and Israel on the situation in the occupied Palestinian territories.

As you are aware, the New Zealand Government maintains a balanced, constructive and even-handed approach to the Arab-Israeli conflict and supports the principle of a two-state solution, with a viable and territorially contiguous Palestinian state, existing side by side in peace and security with the State of Israel.

New Zealand has directly conveyed to Israel our concern about the incident off Gaza. I called the Israeli Ambassador in on 1 June to tell him that Israel would need to respond to serious international scrutiny of the tragedy and that New Zealand would be taking a close interest in discussions at the UN Security Council. New Zealand called for a full investigation into the incident, and continues to urge all parties to show restraint while we await the outcome of various investigations still underway.

The New Zealand Government believes the situation in Gaza is unsustainable and that an improvement in conditions there will depend on an intensification of the effort to find a solution to ending the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The recent resumption of direct peace talks is an important step in that direction.

Yours sincerely

(Signed)

Hon Murray McCully

Minister of Foreign Affairs

ends

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