In a move at odds with the actions of the U.K., Canada and Australia, New Zealand announced on Friday it will not join the growing roster of countries recognizing a Palestinian state.
“With a war raging, Hamas remaining the de facto government of Gaza, and no clarity on next steps, too many questions remain about the future State of Palestine for it to be prudent for New Zealand to announce recognition at this time,” Foreign Minister Winston Peters said during his address to the U.N. General Assembly in New York.
However, Peters added, recognition of a Palestinian state is a matter of “when,” not “if,” as far as his country is concerned, Bloomberg reported.
“What we are looking for now are real actions toward the full viability and legitimacy of the State of Palestine, rather than rhetoric in that direction,” the foreign minister said.
The center-left opposition New Zealand Labour Party said that the decision of the center-right government is “an embarrassment” that “puts our country on the wrong side of history,” Bloomberg reported.
Meanwhile in Europe, the Croatian parliament rejected on Friday a motion to compel the government to recognize a Palestinian state within 15 days, according to outlet Croatia Week.
Initiated by the opposition party Možemo, 73 MPs voted against the proposal, 44 in favor of it and four abstained on the issue.
An alternative resolution was adopted by parliament with 74 votes in favor, calling to monitor international peace efforts and determine when would be the right time for recognition.
As of Sept. 2025, 157 of the 193 United Nations member states have recognized Palestinian statehood, Croatia Week added.
On Sept. 22, French President Emmanuel Macron, along with the leaders of Luxembourg, Malta and Monaco, recognized a Palestinian state at a summit in New York.
Following Paris’s decision, the French consulate in Jerusalem, located within the 1967 lines favored by proponents of the two-state solution, updated its address on the official website of the European Commission to list it as in “Palestine.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday slammed the recognitions as a “shameful surrender,” saying that capitulating to Palestinian terrorism would not obligate the Jewish state in any way.
“A Palestinian state will not be established,” Netanyahu declared.
