Round The World
New Delhi, 21 May
2021
Israel-Palestine Clashes
INDIA’S BALANCING ACT
By Dr D.K.Giri
(Prof. International Politics, JIMMC)
After a few years of
relative peace, Israel and Palestine are once again caught in deadly violent
attacks and counter-attacks causing loss of lives, property, homelessness and
destitution. The violent conflict between the two countries is into the second
week as the United Nations Security Council had an open debate last Sunday,
called the “Situation in the Middle East”. The Indian United Nations’ Permanent
Representative (UNPR), Ambassador T.S. Tirumurti made a tightropewalk in making
a statement on the crisis which left the observers and analysts tearing their
hair in comprehending it.
While the statement,
in facts and principles, reflected India’s commitment to two-State arrangement,
and to peace and human rights; in diplomatic terms, it shows India’s as-usual
balancing act. But on a deeper analysis, it shows New Delhi’s continuing
confusion about taking clear and categorical positions on international issues.
The Indian UNPR said,
“we condemn the indiscriminate rocket firings from Gaza targeting the
civilian population in Israeland the retaliatory strikes into Gaza, which have
caused immense suffering and resulted in deaths.” He mentioned that India had
lost one of its citizens, a caregiver in Ashkelon, 30-year-old
Soumya Santosh from Kerala. He further said that,
“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 extreme 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”.
In the
closed-door meetings of the 15-member UNSC which did not result in any joint
statement, prior to the open debate, India had expressed its concern over theviolence
in Jerusalem, especially on Haram Al-Sharif/Temple Mount during the holy month
of Ramzan and over the possible eviction of Palestinian families in Sheikh
Jarrah and Silwan in the neighbourhoodof East Jerusalem and the Israeli
families trying to occupy the property of the evacuees.
Obviously, the
eviction process was one of the triggers of Arab protests in the last week of
Ramzan. Fearing an unrest, the Israeli forces sieged the Al Aqsa mosque, the
third biggest holy cite of Islam and sought to flush out those inside the
mosque including worshippers in Ramzan by using tear gas, water cannons, stun
grenades etc. The Mosques is claimed both by Muslims and Christians and Jews
are not allowed into it. At any rate, the seizure of the mosque in West Bank
apparently provoked the Hamas in Gaza strip to fire rockets into Israel
territory killing and wounding civilians. In retaliation, Israeli Defence
Forces (IDF) started bombing Gaza.
The rocket attacks,
above 3000 fired from Gaza, killed 12 people including a soldier, two Thai
nationals and an Indian citizen and injured many. In bombing by IDF, so far, as
per the available information, 213 people in Gaza were killed, out of which 61
were children 52 women, and about 2000 have been wounded. Around 425 buildings
have been destroyed including those housing Associated Press and other
international media organisations. Israel claims they have destroyed several
rocket launch-pads and have killed many commanders of Hamas.
While many world
leaders including US President Joe Biden have urged restrain and a ceasefire,
and countries like Egypt and Qatar interlocuting for the same, no cessation of
the conflict seems to be on the cards. The Egyptians leaders claim, “we are
close and it could be reached in 2 days maximum”. But Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin
Netanyahuasserted that “Israel Defence forces will continue to act as necessary
to restore peace and security to all residents of Israel” reiterating his
‘muscular’ approach.
Analysing the Indian
stand, we see a lack of clarity in its exposition. Diplomatically, New Delhi
seems to have failed to earn the goodwill of either Palestine or Israel, whilst
the world leaders keep guessing about where India stands. Netanyahu tweeted his
thanks to all those countries that resolutely stood by Israel and its right to
self-defence against terrorist attacks by posting their flags, but the
tricolour was not one of them.
Let us decode the
statement of the India’s Permanent Representative at the UN. New Delhi’s
position is that the violence started in East Jerusalem a week back referring
to clashes in the Al Aqsa mosque, Seikh Jarrah and Silwan. This means that the
rockets fired by Hamas was not the trigger. Second, New Delhi urges both sides to refrain from attempts to unilaterally
change the existing status quo, including in East Jerusalem and its
neighbourhood. Here it is Israel which is trying to change the status quo by evicting
the families and deploying troops in the Mosque compound.
Third, New Delhi is
referring to the Mosque as Haram Al-Sharif/Temple Mount, which means both Muslims
and Jews have claim to it whereas Palestine believes it is only theirs. New
Delhi is endorsing that it is both Jewish and Islamic. Fourth, New Delhi condemns
the rocket attacks, rightly so, but there is no mention of retribution by IDF,
which, many would say, is heavily disproportionate. Fifth, New Delhi’s support
to two-nation theory without mentioning East Jerusalem as the capital of
Palestine does not hold water. Observers may call it symbolism and lip-sympathy.
The hard reality of
India’s position vis-a-vis the Israel-Palestine conflict is that since 1948,
when Palestine was bifurcated and Israel was created, India has been supporting
Palestine. Although New Delhi recognised Israel in 1950, it had no diplomatic
connection with it. New Delhi continued to support the Palestine cause until BJP
came to power in 1998 and again in 2014.
With BJP at the helm, New Delhi’s attitude to Israel took a dramatic
turn. In fact, it was articulated nicely by Brajesh Mishra, then India’s National
Security Adviser, in 2003, which led to the dream of a strategic triangle
between Israel, India and the US.
In a speech at a
dinner of the American Jewish Committee Mishra said, “Our principal theme here
today is a collective remembrance of the horrors of terrorism and a celebration
of the alliance of free societies involved in combating this scourge. The US,
India and Israel have all been prime targets of terrorism. They have to jointly
face the same ugly face of modern-day terrorism”.
In 2014, since
Narendra Modi became Prime Minister, he made radical shift of our foreign
policy in favour Israel. From 2017, East
Jerusalem was no more mentioned in any official communique, and in 2018, Modi visiting
Israel, the first Prime Minister of India to do so, de-hyphenated Palestine and
Israel. It wasperhaps in order as Israel, despite facing New Delhi’s diplomatic
indifference, has stood by India in all its wars in 1962,1965, 1971 and 1999 in
Kargil.
So, having
acknowledged Israel as a friend-in-need, should New Delhi not use its goodwill
to stop the violence against the Palestiniancivilians,and further occupation of
their land, lift the siege of their cities, and remind Israel of the violation
of protocols and international agreements?Furthermore, New Delhi should dissuade
countries from supporting a terrorist organisation like Hamas. To put it
pithily, New Delhi need not disown Palestine and unfriend Israel. ---INFA
(Copyright, India
News & Feature Alliance)
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