PSNA calls on government to condemn desecration of New Zealand war graves in Gaza

ByJohn Minto

Palestine Solidarity Network Aotearoa (PSNA) is urging the New Zealand Government to formally condemn the destruction of New Zealand First World War graves in Gaza, following confirmation that Israeli forces bulldozed the cemetery where New Zealand and Cook Islands soldiers are buried.

New Zealand war graves destroyed in Gaza

PSNA is calling on the government to condemn Israel’s desecration of New Zealand war graves in Gaza.

Israeli bulldozing of the graves was confirmed last week but the New Zealand government has not responded with any comment.

Palestinian Essam Jaradah, who has tended the New Zealand graves for 45 years, confirmed their destruction in an interview with the Guardian newspaper.

“Common decency demands we condemn Israel for this abuse of our war dead,” says Palestine Solidarity Network Aotearoa Co-Chair John Minto. “If it happened anywhere else in the world the government would register shock and be appalled.”

“Australia has spoken out but nothing from New Zealand. No protest expressed, no demand Israel apologise, no request for access to inspect the damage.  Nothing.”

“Neither has there been any response from the New Zealand Returned Services Association.”

Calls for government response and international law accountability

Minto says Israel relied on what he called huge and sympathetic media attention for more than two years, demanding the return of the remains of Israeli soldiers killed in Gaza.

“It seems the only human remains which matter are Israeli ones. Over a period, Israel has systematically destroyed Palestinian cemeteries and now the war graves of our soldiers.”

There were 23 graves of New Zealand World War I soldiers in the Commonwealth War Cemetery, plus another two from the 280 strong Rarotongan Company from the Cook Islands, which also fought for Britian to capture Palestine from the Turkish Ottomans.

“The families of these soldiers deserve to hear their government speak out” says Minto.

International law protections and wider cemetery destruction

Earlier reports show appalling and deliberate damage and bodies desecrated in at least 16 other cemeteries across Gaza and Canada reported damage to the war cemetery where Canadian soldiers lie alongside New Zealanders.

According to a CNN report:

Cemeteries are given protections as “civilian objects” under international law and are afforded special protections, with limited exceptions.

“Israel has always flouted international law, and the desecration of cemeteries adds to the long list of its war crimes in Gaza,” says Minto.

“There might be some people who believe Israeli excuses that there are tunnels under everything in Gaza, so everything should be bombed or bulldozed flat.”

“But Israel has no right to be there.  It is in illegal occupation of Gaza and the other Palestinian Territory of the West Bank and East Jerusalem.”

“If Israel respected international law, and withdrew its military occupation, the graves would not have been desecrated” says Minto.

Historical responsibility and silence from New Zealand leaders

The land for the cemetery was gifted by the people of Palestine.

“We are not aware that any New Zealand politician has ever visited these graves in Gaza so probably the Prime Minister will turn his back on Israeli desecration of our history as he has on the mass killing, starvation and ethnic cleansing of Palestinians in Gaza.”

John Minto
National Chair, Palestine Solidarity Network Aotearoa

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4 Comments

  1. Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC):
    The CWGC, which receives funding from governments including New Zealand, is responsible for maintaining war graves in France, such as those at the Cite Bonjean Military Cemetery and the Grevillers New Zealand Memorial.
    Voluntary Efforts: The New Zealand Remembrance Army has been actively involved in restoring war graves, specifically aiming to ensure service graves are preserved, notes that the government has historically provided funding to relevant bodies to aid in these projects…..
    ……the New Zealand government has provided substantial financial and diplomatic support for memorials in France, often in the range of millions of dollars in total….

    From the NZ Herald:
    NZ war graves memorial rebuilt in France
    9 Jan, 2003 12:34 AM

    A memorial in France for nearly 450 New Zealand soldiers killed in World War I has been rebuilt.
    The Commonwealth War Graves Commission said the Grevillers New Zealand Memorial, in Pas de Calais, was rebuilt shortly before Christmas. The memorial names 446 New Zealanders who have no known grave and were…..     [Pay walled]

    The New Zealand Remembrance Army | An address by Simon Strombom, former NZ Army Major
    From an abridged speech given by Simon to the Wellington Club in 2021 for Remembrance Day:

    “There is an old saying that you die twice; once when you die, and once when the last person says your name.”

    https://www.veteransaffairs.mil.nz/news-events/articles/the-new-zealand-remembrance-army-an-address-from-simon-strombom/

    Thank you to John Minto for listing and recalling the names of those forgotten New Zealanders who died fighting for New Zealand in Palestine.

    The Genocide is not completed until the record is deleted

    Reply

  2. Israel is smashing the graves of those goyim who invaded Palestine on behalf of the British empire and consequently helped to establish the State of Israel. But the New Zealanders are still goyim, and the goyim need to be put in their place, which is under the tracks of a bulldozer.
    Winston Peters understands that and so you won’t hear a peep from him.

    Reply