- Wednesday, February 26, 2025
In an exclusive interview to an Indian channel, Abualhayjaa said India should call for a ceasefire in Gaza Strip ‘immediately’.
By: Shubham Ghosh
PALESTINIAN ambassador to India Adnan Mohammad Jaber Abualhayjaa has said that they hope New Delhi will play the role of a “mediator” in the ongoing Israel-Hamas clash being a “heavy power” and will urge Israel, particularly its prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, to “stop seizing territory”.
He said Palestine also wants India to join nations such as Egypt, Qatar and Turkey to distribute humanitarian aid to more than two million Palestinians living in the Gaza Strip which has come under severe assault from the Israeli forces.
In an exclusive interview with India’s ABP Live, Abualhayjaa said India should call for a ceasefire in Gaza Strip “immediately” even as the war raged on, killing thousands of people there, including children. The crisis erupted on October 7 when Hamas launched massive coordinated rocket attacks on Israel, killing many people.
“We want India to play a role. Prime Minister (Narendra Modi) is respected by both (Israel and Palestine). I request him to please do something. At least at the moment (PM Modi can) call for a ceasefire or bring humanitarian aid for the 2.2 million people living in the Gaza strip. They are living without electricity, water, food, fuel and medicine. This is a war crime. They (West) said Russia committed war crimes during the Ukraine war. But when it came to Israel, it was about defending themselves. This is the double standard of this world,” Abualhayjaa was quoted as saying.
“Hope the Government of India and the Prime Minister himself play a good role (in this crisis). This is an opportunity, especially for India, as you (India) know what is the crisis facing the Palestinian people, what is the catastrophe of the Palestinian people since the time of Mahatma Gandhi in 1948,” he added.
The envoy said India can join hands with key players of the Middle East, including Egypt, Qatar, Turkey and others. Calling India a “heavy power”, he said it could easily manage to cooperate with them in sending aid.
Abualhayjaa’s remarks came just days after Modi asserted support for Israel on X. On the second instance, he reiterated support for the Jewish state following a telephone call with Netanyahu, who is known to be his close friend in the international fraternity of leaders.
However, Modi’s support for Israel triggered a political row at home and a few opposition parties, including the Indian National Congress and the Communist Party of India (Marxist), also threw their weights behind the Palestinians, the former in a more balanced way.
The Indian external affairs ministry said later last week that New Delhi was also in favour of a sovereign state of Palestine and wanted it to co-exist with Israel peacefully.
“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,” Arindam Bagchi, spokesperson of the ministry said.
India had also reached out to its nationals in Ramallah besides those in Israel for help after the deadly conflict started.
Abualhayjaa said India can join hands with the key players in the Middle East to put pressure on Netanhayu saying if the Israeli leader was left free to defend himself, he would create a massacre in Palestine.
“So we are looking at India to be a mediator and to see the seizing of territory is stopped (by Israel) and send humanitarian aid to the 2.2 mn Palestinians living in the West Bank,” the diplomat was quoted as saying.
He also said that Mahmoud Abbas, president of the Palestinian National Authority, may speak to Modi soon on the matter. Abbas met US secretary of state Antony Blinken recently during which he rejected the forced displacement of Palestinians from Gaza based on Israel’s evacuation orders to forcefully move around 1.1 million towards the south.
