The New Zealand Government must turn its concern
for Palestinians into urgent, practical
action.
Palestine Forum of New Zealand is
calling on the New Zealand Government to take immediate
diplomatic and financial action following the United Nations
World Food Programme’s announcement that 500,000
Palestinians in Gaza will lose their monthly food assistance
because of a severe funding shortfall.
This is not an
abstract budget issue. It is a decision that will affect the
daily survival of hundreds of thousands of people who have
endured years of war, displacement, destruction and
deprivation.
The World Food Programme has warned that
its assistance is being reduced just as winter approaches.
Food rations are being halved, cash assistance is being cut,
and the provision of hot meals is being reduced. Meanwhile,
approximately 1.4 million people in Gaza continue to face
crisis-level food insecurity or worse.
No
family should be left wondering where their next meal will
come from because the international community has failed to
fund humanitarian assistance.
PFNZ calls on
the New Zealand Government to:
- Provide
urgent additional humanitarian funding for the
World Food Programme and trusted humanitarian organisations
delivering food, clean water, medical care and essential
supplies to Palestinians in Gaza. - Mobilise
international support by working with like-minded
governments to close the WFP’s funding gap and ensure that
humanitarian assistance is sustained rather than
progressively reduced. - Use New Zealand’s
diplomatic influence to press Israel to ensure the
safe, rapid and sustained entry and distribution of
sufficient humanitarian aid throughout Gaza, without
arbitrary restrictions or
obstruction. - Demand full implementation of
the ceasefire and protection of civilians,
alongside compliance with international humanitarian law and
the removal of barriers preventing Palestinians from
accessing essential supplies. - Adopt a
sustained humanitarian response, with transparent
commitments and regular public reporting on New Zealand’s
contributions and diplomatic efforts to address the crisis
in Gaza and the occupied Palestinian
territory.
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New Zealand cannot resolve this
crisis alone, but it can make a meaningful contribution. It
can provide funding, mobilise other countries and use its
diplomatic relationships to press for action.
The
international community must not allow a fragile improvement
in food security to be reversed because humanitarian funding
has fallen short. Humanitarian assistance must be based on
need, not donor fatigue or shifting political
attention.
Palestinians in Gaza are not statistics.
They are human beings, families, children and older people
who deserve food, safety and dignity.
The
Palestine Forum of New Zealand urges the Government to act
now. Statements of concern are not enough. Humanitarian
needs demand concrete
action.
