Speaking at a virtual meeting of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), TS Tirumurti, India’s Permanent Representative and Ambassador to the United Nations (UN), called for an “immediate de-escalation” in Gaza. During his speech, Tirumurti called on both sides to engage in peaceful dialogue and resolve the issue. Moreover, he highlighted that India supports the “just cause of Palestine” and further offered his “unwavering” support to a “two-state solution” to the crisis.
He said, “Immediate de-escalation is the need of the hour, so as to arrest any further slide towards the brink. We urge both sides to show restraint, desist from actions that exacerbate tensions, and refrain from attempts to unilaterally change the existing status quo, including in East Jerusalem and its neighbourhood.” Furthermore, he also condemned the “immense suffering” caused by the “indiscriminate rocket firings from Gaza targeting the civilian population in Israel” along with the “retaliatory strikes into Gaza.”
Tirumurti also said that India has already expressed its “deep concern” regarding the violence in Jerusalem during a 15-member closed meeting that had taken place on Wednesday. However, according to a tweet by the diplomat, while he condemned “all acts of violence” during these discussions, he specifically criticised the rocket attacks from Gaza, which were fired by Hamas militia and resulted in three deaths in Israel.
The meeting at the UNSC comes as the region sees the seventh day of continuous violence, with at least nearly 200 dead in Gaza and 10 in Israel. Previously, the UN had released an official statement condemning the hostilities, warning that the region could be pushed into an “uncontainable” crisis. At the closed meeting held on Wednesday, UN Secretary-General António Guterres raised alarm about the rise of Jewish extremism, which has resulted in the forceful eviction of Palestinians from Jerusalem. He said, “In Israel, violence by vigilante-style groups and mobs has added a further horrendous dimension to an already deteriorating crisis… Leaders on all sides have a responsibility to curb inflammatory rhetoric and calm the rising tensions.”
Previously, India has offered its support to Palestine’s cause, being the only non-Arab country to acknowledge the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) as representative of the interests of the Palestinian people. In fact, the PLO opened an office in New Delhi in 1975 and has enjoyed full diplomatic status since 1980. In 1975, India even supported the UN General Assembly Resolution that “determined that Zionism is a form of racism and racial discrimination.”
However, things took a turn in 1992, when the Narasimha Rao-led government established full-fledged diplomatic relations with Israel. Since then, while it has often claimed to support the cause of Palestinians and the two-state solution, it has continued to enhance its ties with Israel.
These ties were further enhanced with the Bhartiya Janata Party winning the elections in 2014. Economic ties between the two countries were bolstered, with Israel becoming the second-largest supplier of arms to India. By 2016, bilateral trade, which excludes defence-related trade, reached $4.167 billion from a meagre of $200 million in 1992. Moreover, in 2017, Prime Minister Narendra Modi became the first-ever Indian premier to visit Israel, indicating a further deepening of relations. However, demonstrating India’s intention to continue to maintain cordial relations with both parties of the conflict, the Indian premier also visited Ramallah, a city in the West Bank, and held discussions with Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas.
India Issues Support For “Just Palestine Cause” and Two-State Solution at UNSC Meeting
Speaking at a virtual meeting of the UNSC, India’s permanent representative to the UN called for an “immediate de-escalation” in Gaza, extending India’s “unwavering” support for a two-state solution.
May 17, 2021
SOURCE: TWITTER