Adil Rasheed replies: According to the Ministry of External Affairs, “India’s support for the Palestinian cause is an integral part of our nation’s foreign policy”.
S. Samuel C Rajiv replies: India has consistently urged Israel to engage in negotiations with the Palestinians to resolve outstanding issues and work towards the establishment of a Palestinian state, based on mutual recognition and effective security arrangements. As for East Jerusalem as the capital of a Palestinian state, India has stated that this has to be decided in final status negotiations between two parties.
Indian assistance to the Palestinians could not be routed through Israel without political controversy both at home and abroad, and India cannot help the Palestinians constructively without coordinating with Jordan.
Modi is merely responding to the changing Middle Eastern situation. A few hours of stay in Ramallah will not gain him any political dividends in the region or in India.
Behind the media hype about India's ‘unwavering support' for the Palestinian cause, there is a subtle but unmistakable shift in its policy towards the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Prime Minister Modi’s meeting with President Abbas in New York reaffirms the government’s commitment to maintain continuity in India’s Palestine policy.
Rajeev Agarwal replies: The current conflict in Gaza has its immediate roots in the kidnapping and killing of the three Israeli teenagers on June 12, 2014. Israel promptly blamed the Hamas which denied any responsibility for it. The bodies of the three teenagers were finally found on June 30 in West Bank. Infuriated, some Israeli citizens caught and killed a Palestinian teenager on July 02. Israel, on its part, intensified its crackdown on the Hamas leadership and conducted strikes over the Hamas targets.
Jordan is more than a transit point
Indian assistance to the Palestinians could not be routed through Israel without political controversy both at home and abroad, and India cannot help the Palestinians constructively without coordinating with Jordan.