Judicial review claim filed against government for approving launches of spy satellites over Gaza

Proceedings have been filed today (eds 12 August) in the Wellington High Court challenging the government’s approval of BlackSky spy satellite launches from the Rocket Lab site at Māhia.

The grounds state the satellites risk supplying Israel’s military with targeting data to use in Gaza.

New Zealand-founded space company Rocket Lab is BlackSky’s primary launch provider.  It launched a BlackSky satellite from Māhia back in March, with further launches recently approved by the Minister for Space.

The claim challenges former space minister Judith Collins’ approval of four launches, despite protest at BlackSky’s links to Israel.The claim is also made against the new space minister Chris Penk, who in April approved 26 more satellite launches which the plaintiffs hope to stop.

The pleadings are laid under the Outer Space and High-altitude Activities Act 2017.

The three plaintiffs are New Zealand citizens.

The first plaintiff, Yasser Abdulaal, is an engineer in Christchurch.  His family sought refuge in Gaza when Zionist militia inflicted the Nakba (catastrophe) in 1948.

They have suffered the devastation of Israel’s air strikes on Gaza since October 2023.

“More than 85 of my extended family have been killed in multiple air strikes by Israel. My two sisters have had to live in terrible conditions with their families in tents in the Al Mawasi area for more than two years now.”

“Israel is still bombing and killing in Gaza. We hope that we will stop these satellite launches.”

Maher Nazzal, the second plaintiff, is an information technology professional based in Auckland. His parents were displaced from their homes during the 1967 Naksa (the “setback”), when Israel occupied the West Bank.

“I have seen firsthand the struggles Palestinians face, including members of my own family. They continue to endure severe oppression and displacement in the West Bank and Gaza.”

“I am proud to be part of this legal action. We are asking our government to take meaningful action in support of Palestinian rights and to uphold its obligations under international law.”

The third plaintiff is Dr Timoti Te Moke (Ngāti Rangitihi, Tapuika and Tonga). He is a doctor working at Middlemore and Auckland Hospitals.

“I’m joining this case because I feel a strong affiliation with the Palestinian people.  Tangata whenua and Palestinians have both suffered colonial violence and so have a powerful connection with each other.”

Dr Te Moke is an independent candidate in the Māngere electorate for the upcoming 2026 general election.     

The pleadings note that Judith Collins and MBIE knew, when they approved the launch of BlackSky’s spy satellites in late 2023, that BlackSky’s satellites had been used by Israel.

At the time, air strikes by Israel over Gaza had killed nearly 20,000 people.

The Palestine Solidarity Network Aotearoa, which is backing the case, raised their concern over Israeli military use for BlackSky satellites with Collins in November 2024.

PSNA spokesperson Rinad Tamimi says the result was ‘wilful ignorance.’

“Neither Collins nor MBIE questioned, when they were deciding to grant BlackSky’s payload permit in December 2023, whether the Israeli military was a current end-user of the satellites.”

“All Collins or her ministry needed to do was pick up the phone and ask whether the Israelis were part of the deal. But it’s most likely they feared they would get an answer they didn’t want.”

Collins refused all PSNA requests to reconsider her approval of the satellite launches.

France based publication Intelligence Online reported in July 2024 that Israel was BlackSky’s ‘main foreign customer’.

A recent Federal Court outcome in Australia requires the Australian Defence Minister to release information on Australian arms exports to Israel.

Australia based Palestine advocacy organisations say they sought the information so they could assess whether these exports, such as F35 aircraft spare parts, could be used to commit human rights abuses, or were contrary to Australia’s international obligations or commitments.

“Right throughout the western world there is a pattern of secrecy about  arms exports to Israel.  It’s now unravelling.  Complicity with genocide is being exposed. Our government is part of that duplicity and now exposure,” Tamimi says.

Sam Vincent, one of the lawyers acting for the plaintiffs, says BlackSky is well known for the sophistication of its geospatial data.

“It is no secret that Israel has systematically relied on geospatial intelligence, such as BlackSky provides, for its targeting.”

“The case against the former space minister is that she did not take into consideration New Zealand’s obligations under the Genocide Convention nor broader international human rights law when she approved these satellite launches.”

“This was despite the likelihood that Israel was using these satellites, and would continue to use them for military targeting.”

“Against protestations, the four BlackSky satellites Judith Collins approved are now in space.”

“There are 26 more BlackSky satellites now approved for launch by the new Minister – while Israel continues to strike Gaza. We are seeking an order that will quash the Minister’s approval and direct that he inquire into BlackSky’s likely supply of data to Israel.”

Another of the lawyers acting for the plaintiffs, Ruby Haazen, says the UN’s independent commission of inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory and Israel has found Israel to have committed genocide in Gaza.

“Many scholars, such as Omar Bartov, and international organisations such as Amnesty International, and the International Association of Genocide Scholars, have also found Israel has committed genocide in Gaza,” Haazen says.

“In January 2024, the International Court of Justice found it plausible that Israel’s military operations in Gaza risked irreparable harm to Palestinians rights under the Genocide Convention, putting all states on notice of their duty to act to prevent genocide. New Zealand is obliged to live up to that duty.”