'Serious questions to answer': Labour slams Luxon over Israel's Pacific Islands Forum move
New Zealand's Labour Party is criticizing Prime Minister Christopher Luxon for Israel's new status as a development partner within the Pacific Islands Forum. The opposition argues that this move contradicts the government's stance on the International Criminal Court's arrest warrants for Israeli leadership.
Why it matters
This highlights the tension between regional diplomatic expansion and the geopolitical fallout of the ongoing conflict in Gaza.
New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has "serious questions to answer" over Israel becoming a partner of the region's main political decision-making institution, Labour's foreign affairs spokesperson says.
Israel has joined the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) as a development partner, the Israeli Foreign Ministry announced in a statement on Wednesday.
A number of Pacific governments have been forging closer ties with Israel's government at the same time that its standing in the international community has dropped to a new low.
The Israeli government has been widely accused of violating international law with its devastating military attack on Gaza and attacks on four other Middle Eastern countries over the past two years.
Luxon stated earlier this month that his Israel counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu would be arrested if he came to New Zealand, after the International Criminal Court's recent decision to issue arrest warrants for Netanyahu and others in his cabinet.
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