Modi’s proposed visit to Israel: Muslim world must revisit its Indian policy
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s proposed visit to Israel, confirmed by External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj last month, may sound like an idea that sounds like the government is ‘thinking out of the box’, but it’s a dangerous foreign policy move.A solid argument in favour of Modi deciding to become the first-ever Indian PM to pay an official visit to Israel stems from the fact that the Indian foreign policy in favour of the Palestinians in the Israel-Palestine conflict has yielded zilch so far for New Delhi. Moreover, the Arab world has stymied India routinely and over the years repeatedly taken Pakistan’s side on the Kashmir issue.Congress leader Anand Sharma on 3 June in Hyderabad has said that PM Modi’s proposed visit to Israel is “worrisome” as it undermines India’s position on Palestine and also “destroys balance” in India’s foreign policy. But even Sharma failed to elaborate why such a step would be bad for Indian foreign policy and Indian national interests.However, there is a paradigm shift in India’s policy towards Palestine, as India was one of the five countries that abstained on last Friday when the UN Human Rights Council voted in favor of adopting the report of the Gaza Conflict Commission of Inquiry. By doing so, India has drawn flak from the Arab world. The Palestinian Authority’s ambassador to India, Adnan Abu Alhaija said: “Palestinians were shocked about India’s abstention, who were otherwise very happy with the UN resolution.” Apart from displeasing the Arab world, Indian opposition also condemned and accused the government of a complete reversal of India’s policy regarding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Sitaram Yechury, the secretary general of Communist Party of India (CPI) said the government should withdraw from this position and extend solidarity with Palestine. However, Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj denied any shift in government policy, which is a blatant lie. India has been conveying an impression that it supports the right of Palestinians to have an independent and sovereign state. But now the facts speak otherwise. According to Indian English daily, Israeli Ambassador to India Daniel Carmon had talked about improving India-Israel defence ties, underlined the ‘threat’ posed by Iran including to Delhi, and reaffirmed the ‘unbreakable’ bond with the US, and justified the 2014 Gaza siege. There was also discussion on how to deal with the Iranian threat. Which is an eye opener for the Muslim world in general and Iran particular.
pk.shafaqna.com
