India is deeply concerned about the ongoing war between Israel and Palestine but stands with the former on the terror front as the country’s policy is strictly zero tolerance towards terrorism, top government sources have told CNN-News18.
The sources said the war is mainly between Hamas and Israel on the terror front and the Centre is aware of the Israel-Palestine territorial issue.
“We are not engaging with all concerns which is different from intervention diplomatically or militarily. Hamas has done wrong and Israel has the absolute right to defend its citizens and territory,” the sources said, adding that the government is engaging with all Middle East countries — including Saudi, Egypt and UAE — for a peaceful solution.
Earlier this month, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called him and gave him an update on the deadly conflict between Israel and Hamas.
The Prime Minister said he assured Netanyahu that India stands with Israel in “this difficult hour”. He also underscored that India strongly and unequivocally condemns terrorism in all its forms.
“I thank Prime Minister @netanyahu for his phone call and providing an update on the ongoing situation. People of India stand firmly with Israel in this difficult hour. India strongly and unequivocally condemns terrorism in all its forms and manifestations,” PM Modi posted on X, formerly Twitter.
Meanwhile, Israel on Wednesday asked India to designate Hamas as a terrorist entity like many other countries have done even as it hailed New Delhi’s “solid support” to its operations against the outfit.
Israeli ambassador to New Delhi Naor Gilon said the need for proscribing Hamas as a terrorist organisation was taken up with India following the deadly attacks on Israeli cities on October 7.
“The important countries for us are with us. These are the democracies of the world. Having said that…I think it is also time to officially designate Hamas in India as a terror organisation,” Gilon said at a media briefing.
The Israeli ambassador said many countries including the US, Canada as well as the leading grouping, the European Union, have already designated Hamas as a terror outfit.
“We spoke to the relevant authorities here. It is not the first time we spoke about it. I think we both understand the threat of terrorism. It is not something we are putting pressure on. We think it is something due because of our shared war on terror,” Gilon said about Israel’s call for designating Hamas as a terror outfit in India.
“We raised the issue after the attack and we are still in dialogue. We are speaking to India. It is a friendly talk…we see eye-to-eye on the vast majority of things including on counter-terrorism and other strategic issues,” he said.
(With PTI inputs)
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