Devil Soul
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Indian Government Rejects Resolution to Condemn Israel - India Real Time - WSJ
A demonstration against Israel’s ongoing offensive in Gaza in the eastern Indian city of Kolkata on July 18.
Agence France-Presse/Getty Images
India’s government on Monday rejected a request for a parliamentary resolution condemning Israel’s military attacks on Gaza, saying New Delhi had to find other ways to show support for the Palestinian cause while growing its relations with Israel.
In a debate that lasted nearly three hours, opposition leaders pressed the Indian Parliament to pass a strongly-worded resolution denouncing Israel for what some members described as the “disproportionate” and “indiscriminate” use of “brute force” in Gaza that has resulted in the deaths of hundreds of civilians in recent weeks.
Rejecting the proposal, foreign minister Sushma Swaraj said Indian lawmakers should instead encourage both sides to return to the negotiating table and revisit an Egypt-brokered ceasefire agreement that the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas had earlier rejected.
“India fully supports the Palestinian cause while at the same time maintaining its ties with Israel,” Ms. Swaraj said in the Rajya Sabha, the upper house of Parliament.
India has for decades supported the right of the people of Palestine to have a secure homeland. Parliamentarians on Monday quoted India’s founding father Mahatma Gandhi who said: “Palestine belongs to the Arabs in the same sense as England belongs to English and France to the French.”
But in recent decades, ties between India and Israel have grown, particularly in the trade of military equipment, making Tel Aviv one of the top suppliers of arms to India, alongside Russia and the United States.
Sitaram Yechury, a leader of the Communist Party of India (Marxist), said in Parliament Monday that India must use not only its “moral force” to lean on Israel, but also suspend all arms deals “to send a strong message.”
Lawmakers of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party on the other hand spoke about striking a balance. Chandan Mitra said that while the loss of lives in Gaza was a great tragedy, India couldn’t forget that it had friendly ties with both sides and should look to protect its national interests.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi signed a multilateral declaration during a summit of BRICS nations in Brazil last week, calling on Israel and Palestine to resume negotiations leading to a “two-state solution” with a “contiguous and economically viable Palestinian state existing side by side in peace with Israel.”
As violence between Israel and Hamas escalated last week, protests erupted in India’s Muslim-majority area of Kashmir, according to Indian media reports, which said one man was killed by security forces as they tried to quell the agitation.
Locals in that part of India are also grappling with a festering conflict. Some people in Kashmir see India as an occupying force in their state, where a separatist movement has long existed.
A demonstration against Israel’s ongoing offensive in Gaza in the eastern Indian city of Kolkata on July 18.
Agence France-Presse/Getty Images
India’s government on Monday rejected a request for a parliamentary resolution condemning Israel’s military attacks on Gaza, saying New Delhi had to find other ways to show support for the Palestinian cause while growing its relations with Israel.
In a debate that lasted nearly three hours, opposition leaders pressed the Indian Parliament to pass a strongly-worded resolution denouncing Israel for what some members described as the “disproportionate” and “indiscriminate” use of “brute force” in Gaza that has resulted in the deaths of hundreds of civilians in recent weeks.
Rejecting the proposal, foreign minister Sushma Swaraj said Indian lawmakers should instead encourage both sides to return to the negotiating table and revisit an Egypt-brokered ceasefire agreement that the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas had earlier rejected.
“India fully supports the Palestinian cause while at the same time maintaining its ties with Israel,” Ms. Swaraj said in the Rajya Sabha, the upper house of Parliament.
India has for decades supported the right of the people of Palestine to have a secure homeland. Parliamentarians on Monday quoted India’s founding father Mahatma Gandhi who said: “Palestine belongs to the Arabs in the same sense as England belongs to English and France to the French.”
But in recent decades, ties between India and Israel have grown, particularly in the trade of military equipment, making Tel Aviv one of the top suppliers of arms to India, alongside Russia and the United States.
Sitaram Yechury, a leader of the Communist Party of India (Marxist), said in Parliament Monday that India must use not only its “moral force” to lean on Israel, but also suspend all arms deals “to send a strong message.”
Lawmakers of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party on the other hand spoke about striking a balance. Chandan Mitra said that while the loss of lives in Gaza was a great tragedy, India couldn’t forget that it had friendly ties with both sides and should look to protect its national interests.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi signed a multilateral declaration during a summit of BRICS nations in Brazil last week, calling on Israel and Palestine to resume negotiations leading to a “two-state solution” with a “contiguous and economically viable Palestinian state existing side by side in peace with Israel.”
As violence between Israel and Hamas escalated last week, protests erupted in India’s Muslim-majority area of Kashmir, according to Indian media reports, which said one man was killed by security forces as they tried to quell the agitation.
Locals in that part of India are also grappling with a festering conflict. Some people in Kashmir see India as an occupying force in their state, where a separatist movement has long existed.
