Since May 10, Palestinian terror organisation Hamas, backed by Iran and pariah Gulf states has fired over 3,150 rockets into Israeli territory, including capital Tel Aviv, targeting innocent civilians. This, after a legal dispute in Israel’s Al-Jarrah colony, was blown out of proportion by Islamists into some sort of an ‘ethnic cleansing’. Almost immediately, Hamas began an offensive against Israel, and the Jewish nation continues to respond with all its might. Any nation, whose civilians are attacked by terrorists with rockets and projectiles for no fault of theirs would do the same. India too, if push came to shove, would do the same.
However, India’s stand on the current conflict between Israel and Hamas has been appalling, to say the least. Many are arguing that foreign policy and diplomatic statements cannot be guided by emotions prevalent within the country, which by the way, are very pro-Israel. However, the fact is that India’s Israel-Palestine policy is redundant. It is outdated and out of touch with reality. Unfortunately, India has not been able to give up on the Nehruvian outlook of the Israel-Palestine conflict, which simply put, was overwhelmingly supportive of the ‘Palestinian cause’.
On Sunday, India’s UN Permanent Representative issued a statement regarding the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas. This statement, importantly, was issued by India at a meeting of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) convened to discuss the clashes between Israel and Hamas terrorists. The pusillanimous statement by India said, “The indiscriminate rocket firings from Gaza targeting the civilian population in Israel, which we condemn, and the retaliatory strikes into Gaza, have caused immense suffering and resulted in deaths, including women and children.”
But here’s the most appalling part! India did not stop there. In fact, it went on to support a “two-state solution” for Israel and Palestine to resolve their dispute. India’s representative during the UNSC meet said, “In conclusion, I reiterate India’s strong support to the just Palestinian cause and its unwavering commitment to the two-state solution.”
These words of absolute surrender to the ‘Palestinian cause’ are sickeningly reminiscent of the Congress-era. The Congress governments, for petty political gains, chose to support Palestine as that won them the votes of India’s Muslims. To date, Palestine remains an emotive issue for Indian Muslims. However, the Congress party is not in power in New Delhi anymore. Rather, the BJP is. The one party which was expected to reverse India’s Palestine policy and realign it with changing geopolitical dynamics, is in fact, continuing with it.
As it turns out, Palestine is not half as committed to the much-touted “two-state solution” as India seems to be. It is not surprising, therefore, that Palestine, or what remains of it, has rejected proposals for ending the conflict via such a ‘solution’ a whopping five times! Yet, India stands committed to the “two-state solution”.
The Indian government must rethink and recalibrate its stand Israel-Palestine conflict immediately, else, with the slow pace of this policy transition we could end up alienating one of our most trusted friends. PM Modi was the first Indian Prime Minister to set foot in Israel and this was seen as a move to improve ties with our ‘natural ally’, but the transition towards a pro-Israel policy has been astoundingly slow and the diplomatic language used is outrageously reminiscent of the UPA era policy and given the geopolitical dynamics today, this should not have been the case.
Israel has been more than a strategic partner and friend for India. It has been a nation, which has always risen to the occasion when India faced a crisis. It never shied away from supporting India and backing us. Back in 1999, during the Kargil War, Israel had provided laser-guided missiles for the Mirage 2000H fighters of the Indian Air Force (IAF). India was able to win the air war due to Israeli help and provide crucial air support to its ground troops.
Last year, as tensions between India and China, surged, Israel supplied India with in-service air defence systems. On all occasions when India has needed help and support, Israel has always stood by us. Therefore, when India failed to voice its support for Israel publicly in face of the Jewish nation facing indiscriminate offensives from Hamas, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu too did not have any reason to include India among the 25 nations he thanked on Twitter for their support.
While Arab nations have begun seeing sense and started abandoning the “Free Palestine” bandwagon, why India cannot do the same remains incomprehensible. The primary argument of those who defend the Indian government’s stand on Palestine is that New Delhi cannot afford to antagonise the Arab world. Well, the Arab world has itself watered down its support to the ‘Palestinian cause’ and many Gulf nations have even signed peace accords with Israel. Surely, now would be the time for India to radically rethink its policy on the matter as well.
India and Israel both suffer from the menace of cross-border terrorism, Islamism and also have a rather hostile neighbourhood. The need of the hour is for India is to stand by its Jewish brothers and sisters in face of them being viciously attacked by radical Islamists.
Absolutely agree with the analysis. India has to get real. It would be very easy for Israel to reciprocate it’s displeasure at India’s cowardice.
What if it calls for a “just” settlement of the Kashmir issue, and a two nation theory?? Like so many other countries do? I’ll bet India would start freaking out!!
Indian governments have always been moral cowards. This cowardice is what hold India back, because it’s easier to be full of hot air than to have substance.
India has to look outside the current crop of “leaders” and babus for a pair of balls.
Highly irresponsible article! I’ve been seeing quite a few of such of late. It’s extremely important to understand context and not blither as you see fit.
I agree that India needs to build stronger a relationship with Israel. The two civilizations draw parallels.
However it must be important to understand the context of the formation of Israel. Israel did not exist before 1949. Palestine did. So technically, going by your logic, Israel is the Pakistan to Palestine being India. They’re claims to the region are as legitimate as ours are on Kashmir. We believe (and rightfully so) that Kashmir is ours and so should Palestine about their region.
Isn’t removing folks from Sheikh Jarrah similar to the eviction of Kashmiri Pundits? The least you guys can do is be consistent with your thoughts.
The thing to note here is Israel isn’t any country. It was created as a safe haven for the Jews who had to experience the holocaust during WW2. Those wounds are still fresh in memory. So they’re justified in reacting the way they are. History has taught them to be paranoid. Unfortunately, the British, as they have done anywhere they went made a mess out of the borders here too. So please display some nuance when putting out matter for public consumption.
God I come down here to have a good laugh! Just the other day you guys posted how India stood firmly with Israel in the UN with your wannabe civil servants and journalists going gaga over a sound and logical stand by conjuring things out of thin air
Now before all you Yogi and Modi worshipping cuckoo’s go gaga over me, I am a practising hindu, not a fan of the Congress and the left. I support the dharmic cause, something which the present dispensation, according to me doesn’t.
This place used to be half decent. It’s a joke now and only stokes sentiments. I guess it’s time to move to Swarajyamag.
It seems that you’re are the one writing irresponsible things and blathering without understanding the full context. The comparison between the Sheikh Jarrah incident and the expulsion of the Kashmiri Pandits is insulting and absurd. You have your history backwards.
Palestine did not exist in 1948. There was no state of Palestine or indeed any independent Arab state in that region ever before in human history. The only independent states in the area were the original Jewish kingdoms from centuries ago. The British Mandate of Palestine was not a state but a protectorate intended to prepare the people living there for self governance. The British, and later the UN proposed partition plans for the territory that the Jews accepted but the Arabs did not. The Palestinian Arabs did not accept the UN Partition Plan of 1948, and triggered a civil war in Mandatory Palestine, calling on the support of five neighboring Arab states to help: Jordan, Egypt, Lebanon, Syria, and Iraq, which attacked Israel immediately after it declared independence in 1948. This is akin to the Pakistani attack on India in Kashmir around the same time.
During this war, Jordan seized the eastern half of Jerusalem, while Israel took the Western half. Jerusalem had been a Jewish majority city in 1948, and would have remained under international control for ten years under the UN Partition Plan. Then, it would have voted on its final status, and as a Jewish majority city, would have become part of Israel. However, this never happened because Jordan controlled the city from 1948-1967. During this time they expelled the Jews from the area under their control, smashed their synogogues, banned Jews from the Western Wall, the Jewish holy site, and even used Jewish gravestones to build latrines for their soldiers. The divided city resembled an armed camp after the ceasefire in 1948. In the Six Day War of 1967, Israel liberated the rest of Jerusalem, leaving it with competing Arab and Jewish land claims, with Palestinian Arabs living on land granted to them by Jordan despite its having been purchased by Jews in 1875. The Palestinian Arabs stopped paying rent, and were evicted. Thus, it is not the Palestinian eviction from Sheikh Jarrah that is comparable to the ethnic cleansing of the Kashmiri Pandits, but the expulsion of the Jews from Eastern Jerusalem by Jordan.
You can go to Swarajyamag if you want, but you’re not going to find any pro Palestinian nonsense there either.
This conflict started by Hamad by salvos of incessant rockets on Israeli civilians, . Rioters from Al Aqsa stone throw on security and wants to transgress into others relegious places. Israel has a right to defend itself and assault the perpetrators of violence on its innocent civilians