Chris Hipkins has revealed he will "pause" a policy that would've seen the Palestinian ambassador to Australia be invited to New Zealand.
Prior to Hamas' surprise attack, Labour announced, if re-elected, it would invite the Canberra-based ambassador across the ditch to New Zealand to present their credentials to be considered an official ambassador here.
"This is a simple and direct way to convey diplomatic recognition of Palestine. In taking this step, New Zealand would join 138 other countries in recognising Palestine," Labour's Phil Twyford said.
"It's my hope it will add New Zealand's voice to the international call for a peaceful and just solution in Israel-Palestine."
Hipkins, the Labour leader, told AM on Tuesday the plan will be paused in light of current events.
"It's certainly not something we're going to be progressing quickly, in light of current circumstances. New Zealand's position and the Labour Party's position is that we support a two-state solution and that does involve diplomatic dialogue on both sides with Israel and with Palestine," he said.
"I think clearly this has changed the dynamic a little bit and it's not something that I would envisage us progressing quickly."
When asked by AM co-host Ryan Bridge if this meant he was scrapping the policy, Hipkins denied that.
"No, I'm not scrapping, but I would say I would go so far as to say that I would pause it in light of the recent developments," Hipkins said.
Meanwhile, Hipkins has continued to condemn the conflict in Israel, describing Hamas' attack as "utterly unacceptable".
Hipkins told AM on Tuesday international talks of supplying aid to the area are underway, but for now, holding a clear stance as a country is all he is willing to do.
When questioned whether New Zealand will provide military aid to Israel, Hipkins said it's too early to speculate.
"We always try and make contributions to these sorts of conflicts in a multilateral way. We work with other like-minded partners to identify how best New Zealand can support efforts," he said.
"We've offered military aid in a limited range of circumstances. It's a big decision to take. We're offering military aid, for example, to Ukraine, but not in the form of direct participation in the conflict. We're offering that support in terms of troop training.
"We have had boots on the ground in places like Afghanistan and we've contributed to peacekeeping efforts in other parts of the world. I think it's still too early to even really speculate on what a New Zealand contribution here might look like."
Foreign Affairs Minister Nanaia Mahuta has come under fire for her initial response to the conflict in Israel.
She put out a tweet on X on Sunday morning saying "New Zealand is deeply concerned" by the conflict.
This saw Mahuta come under fire from political parties for a weak first response and for not condemning the attack. She put out a follow-up tweet seven hours later saying she does "condemn" the attack.
Hipkins admitted on Monday Mahuta's comments "could have been stronger" but when asked about it on AM he said he stood by his Foreign Affairs Minister.
"Nanaia worked based on advice that she was provided. I think her response could've been stronger. I think she in retrospect thinks the response could have been stronger. I'm not going to lose a lot of sleep over that though," Hipkins said.
"My position I set out very clearly, the New Zealand Government's position was set out very clearly at the first available opportunity."
When questioned if Mahuta's initial response was impacted by her pushing for Palestine to be recognised, Hipkins denied that.
Watch the full interview with Chris Hipkins in the video above.
