Pressure is increasing on the Government to help families of New Zealand citizens escape Gaza as the Israel-Hamas conflict intensifies.
In the last few days, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has received a number of enquiries about whether it can extend support to help relatives of citizens to leave Gaza, a spokesperson told Stuff.
A petition has been launched, and signed by thousands of New Zealanders, for the Government to change its position, and create a temporary special category visa for Palestinians in Gaza who have family members in New Zealand.
Labour immigration spokesperson Phil Twyford is calling on the Government to follow the example of Australia.
“We showed with the evacuation of Kabul that we can act decisively to save people at risk. And in the case of Ukraine we gave the family members of Kiwis who were in a war zone the chance to take shelter with their families in New Zealand.
“There is no reason the Government should not now do the same for the families of Kiwis stuck in Gaza,” Twyford said.
ROBERT KITCHIN/The Post
Pressure is on the Government to change its position on helping families of New Zealand citizens in Gaza. Chris Luxon, and Winston Peters at the opening addresses in the House of Representatives debating chamber.
New Zealand citizen Alya Hammad, who has relatives in Gaza in danger, including young children, wrote to Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters on Monday and told Stuff that he is “condemning them to death” by not helping.
She has now received a reply from Peters stating: “Currently, we are not extending support beyond citizens and permanent residents in Gaza, and their spouses and children. I continue to seek advice on the current situation for families of New Zealand citizens.”
It’s unacceptable, Hammad told Stuff.
“He needs to make a responsible decision before it is too late. Many Kiwis’ families have been affected by this war. Many have already lost family members, some only found out from the news.
“My mother has lost more than 20 members of her family. My aunty has lost her home. Only on Tuesday we learned one of my husband’s family was killed.
“My in-laws have fled to Rafah, but no one can cross unless New Zealand changes its mind. How many more tragedies does our government need to hear about before acting?”
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Alya Hammad.
The Australian Government has approved 863 temporary visas for Palestinians to come to Australia since October 7 when the current violence erupted with a Hamas massacre of Israelis, the Guardian reported.
Temporary visas are visitor visas of up to 12 months and in most cases people who have been issued them will live with family in Australia.
The New Zealand Government should do the same, said Twyford.
“The Government should also do what Australia is doing and provide visas so those family members, once they get out of Gaza, can come to New Zealand and shelter with family here.”
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Alya Hammad’s niece is trapped in Gaza without medication, and little food and water, while her family flee to the border.
This week, United Nations human rights chief Volker Türk said there was a heightened risk of “atrocity crimes” in Gaza, with humanitarian workers on the ground describing the current situation as “apocalyptic”, Reuters reported.
“Palestinians in Gaza are living in utter deepening horror,” Türk said, describing the displacement and deprivation of millions of Palestinians, who have fled homes, and surviving in unsafe, overcrowded and unsanitary conditions.
The only exit open for Palestinian civilians to seek safety is the Rafah Crossing to Egypt, but to cross the border, names must be provided by various governments, and approved by Israel.
Amir Levy/Getty Images
An Israeli soldier stands on a military hummer near the border with the Gaza Strip on December 4, 2023.
The New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs has so far assisted 20 New Zealand citizens and permanent residents to leave Gaza.
Securing approvals for individuals to exit Gaza is complex, requiring approval from both Israel and Egypt, and providing assurances to the Egyptian government that those we support will leave Egypt within 72 hours, a spokesperson for MFAT told Stuff.
Despite increased enquiries and pressure from the opposition for the government to help, this week MFAT told Stuff it wasn’t “extending support beyond citizens and permanent residents at this time”.
“It would be hard to execute”, said a ministry spokesperson.
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Erica Stanford, Minister of Immigration.
Minister of Immigration Erica Stanford provided a written response to Stuff.
“While, at this time, New Zealand is not looking to create a bespoke visa category in response to this situation, the Government is monitoring the crisis and we may adjust our response where appropriate.
“Immigration New Zealand is also providing case-by-case advice and support to MFAT for New Zealand citizens and residents attempting to leave Gaza and travel to New Zealand, and will continue to prioritise and process applications for people impacted by the conflict along with supporting MFAT.”
She said New Zealand has an annual refugee quota of 1500 per year.
“Ukraine was a unique situation given the size, scale and nature of the conflict, and the fact that the UNHCR was unable to refer people to New Zealand through our refugee quota, which meant there were no existing pathways for Ukrainian refugees,” Stanford said.
“Afghanistan was also another situation where unique circumstances required a targeted approach as Afghan nationals were at risk of harm due to their work for the New Zealand Defence Force and other agencies in Afghanistan.”
Winston Peters did not respond to Stuff’s request for comment.
