Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters. Photo: RNZ / Samuel Rillstone
Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters will on Saturday set out New Zealand's position on Palestinian statehood at the United Nations General Assembly.
While similar countries like Australia, Canada and the UK have already recognised Palestine in an effort to build international momentum towards a two-state solution, the coalition has opted to wait until Saturday.
Peters has been intent on listening to the perspectives of all countries while on the ground in New York this week, saying he was there "to hear everybody's view".
Cabinet's final decision on recognition will be relayed to government parties back in New Zealand before Peters' speech to the general assembly on Saturday morning, currently scheduled between 10.30am and 11.30am (NZ time).
The State of Palestine is recognised as a sovereign nation by 157 of the 193 UN member states, representing 81 percent of the international community.
While Peters had not indicated what way the coalition will go, the foreign affairs minister had emphasised New Zealand was a long-standing democracy and would make a decision based on "integrity".
"We are pleased to be hearing all these different views. You'll see that they're widely different from different countries in the world. That's to be expected," he said earlier this week.
"Our job is to ensure that one of the world's oldest democracies has a position of integrity, and that's what we're going to be."
The latest RNZ-Reid Research poll found 42.5 percent of voters thought New Zealand should recognise Palestine, with a sizeable 35.4 percent saying they did not know and 22.1 percent against recognition.
Cabinet had been considering the question of recognition since the start of the month, on the basis it was a matter of it being a "when, not if" situation.
Middle East expert Anas Iqtait earlier told RNZ it would be difficult for the government to justify holding out on recognition, given so many other UN member states, including New Zealand's only formal ally Australia, had already done so.
The coalition had options if it decided to recognise Palestinian statehood, like attaching conditions to recognition that reflect the practical criteria for statehood: a permanent population, a defined territory, a government and the capacity to enter into relations with other states.
The most recent recognitions come in the context of a wider two-state solution plan, being led by France and Saudi Arabia.
The UN headquarters in New York. Photo: AFP / DANIEL SLIM
New Zealand attended a summit on this plan earlier this week, after voting in favour of the conference's 'New York Declaration' in July.
The declaration endorsed outlined "tangible, timebound, and irreversible steps" towards a two-state solution, as well as condemning Hamas and calling on it to surrender, disarm, and release all hostages held in Gaza.
New Zealand has so far committed $37.5 million in humanitarian aid to aid the crisis on the ground in Gaza and may well announce further support on Saturday.
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