- Wednesday, February 26, 2025
India’s foreign ministry spokesperson said New Delhi has always sought Palestine and Israel co-existing peacefully.
By: Shubham Ghosh
INDIA’s ministry of external affairs (MEA) on Thursday (12) said New Delhi believes in its long-standing support for the establishment of a “sovereign, independent and viable” state of Palestine.
Asserting India’s “consistent” policy, MEA spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said, “Our policy has been longstanding and consistent. India always advocated the resumption of direct negotiations towards establishing a sovereign, independent and viable state of Palestine, living within secure and recognised borders, side by side at peace with Israel. I think that position remains the same.”
He also said New Delhi saw the attack on Israel as a “terrorist attack”.
I thank Prime Minister @netanyahu for his phone call and providing an update on the ongoing situation. People of India stand firmly with Israel in this difficult hour. India strongly and unequivocally condemns terrorism in all its forms and manifestations.
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) October 10, 2023
Deeply shocked by the news of terrorist attacks in Israel. Our thoughts and prayers are with the innocent victims and their families. We stand in solidarity with Israel at this difficult hour.
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) October 7, 2023
It was the first statement issued by India on the Palestine issue after Palestinian militant group Hamas launched coordinated attacks on Israeli soil on October 7, resulting in the latter’s retaliation which caused a massive number of deaths on both sides.
Prime minister Narendra Modi spoke on the matter twice on social media platform X and on both occasions, he extended support to Israel. On Tuesday (10), he said his Israeli counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu briefed him on the situation in Israel and reiterated his support for Israel.
The opposition in India have come up with a divided take on the matter with the Indian National Congress issuing a more balanced reaction condemning the attacks on Israel and backing Palestinians right to land, self-government and dignity. The Communist Party of India (Marxist) also backed the Palestinians. Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party slammed the opposition such as the Congress accusing it of supporting terror organisations.
Senior Congress parliamentarian Shashi Tharoor, a former junior foreign minister of India and a diplomat at the United Nations, said in an interview to an Indian channel that Hamas doesn’t represent Palestine and New Delhi should not forget the cause of Palestine.
Bagchi, who was speaking in a press conference, said the first flight from Israel bringing back Indian citizens stranded in Israel under ‘Operation Ajay’ will land in India on Thursday. He appealed to Indian citizens in Israel to get in touch with the local embassy to register their names for availing chartered flights out of the country.
Indian external affairs minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar announced the rescue operation’s launch on X on Wednesday (11).
