Indian Support for Israeli Strikes on the Palestinians

By Sajjad Shaukat

By setting side Israeli’s past and present state terrorism on the Palestinians, just a few hours after Hamas launched its assault on Israel on October 7, 2023, India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi was among the first world leaders to respond, who in a strongly worded statement condemned it as the “terrorist attacks”, and said New Delhi “stands in solidarity with Israel at this difficult hour”.

If any impartial observer studies the historical background of the Indian Occupied Kashmir and Israeli occupied territories of the Palestine—perennial wars of liberation, he will definitely conclude that acts of barbarism, employed by Indian troopers on the Kashmiris and those of Israel on the Palestinians to maintain their illegitimate occupation tantamount to alien rule. Therefore, both the countries are the real terrorists.

However, the Israel-Gaza war erupted after the Palestinian militant group Hamas launched an unprecedented attack on Israel on October 7, with its fighters entering communities near the Gaza strip, killing at least 1,300 people, and taking over 250 hostages which also include 20 Americans and 50 Israeli army soldiers. The Israeli government pointed out that Hamas was still holding 239 hostages kidnapped from Israel.

In response, the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) launched an unprecedented multi-pronged assault on Gaza strip—one of its largest aerial bombardments to eliminate Hamas. So far, the Israeli military has dropped more than 11,000 bombs on Gaza.

Unmatched with Israeli heavy and modern weapons, freedom fighters of Hamas and the Islamic Jihad group Abu Ubaida had no option except firing rockets inside Israel.

Unlike the less numbers of the persons mentioned by the media, Israel’s aerial raids in Gaza enclave have destroyed buildings, houses, refugees’ camps, mosques, schools, hospitals, and other buildings, killing tens thousands of civilians, including women (including pregnant women), children and journalists. Reports suggest that particularly more than 10000 children have been massacre by IDF bombardments.

Authorities in Gaza pointed out that thousands of people were missing and believed to be under the rubble, while almost 1400 Israelis have been killed so far.

Playing the same bloody game, Israeli forces also targeted multiple locations in the Occupied West Bank and murdered more than 300 Palestinians, while arresting more than 2000 individuals—Jewish settlers have burnt their shops and cars.

Tel Aviv has halted deliveries of basic necessities of life such as water, food and electricity to Gaza’s 2.3 million people and prevented entry of supplies from Egypt. But, under a deal among Israel, Egypt and Hamas, Gaza’s Rafah border crossing was opened on November 1, 2023—at least 320 foreigners as well 81 severely injured Gazans crossed into Egypt. In the recent past, 20 trucks with humanitarian aid were allowed by Israel to reach Gaza. UN and human rights groups say it too little aid for the starving people of the Gaza enclave.

Continuing aerial strike, on October 31 and November 1, at least 300 Palestinians were killed in the two Israeli attacks on Jabalia refugee camp-the largest camp, with hundreds of missing persons under the rubble. In this regard, the U.N. Human Rights office stated that strikes on the camp could be a war crime.

Meanwhile, the director of the UN’s Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights Craig Mokhiber has resigned over the organization’s response to the humanitarian crisis unfolding in Gaza, which he described as a “text-book case of genocide.” In a public letter, dated October 28, Craig Mokhiber elaborated: “Western governments are wholly complicit in the horrific assault…the US, UK and much of the Europe are not only “refusing to meet their treaty obligations”, under the Geneva Conventions, but also supporting Israel by providing it arms and political and diplomatic support.

And 1000 people were killed in an Israeli air raid on al-Ahli Arab Hospital in Gaza on October 17, this year. Several world leaders belonging to the western countries and those of the Muslim World, and the UN secretary general strongly censured the hospital attack, holding Tel Aviv responsible for the tragedy in wake of the protest-rallies in the USA, Western countries and the Islamic countries—in some countries occurrence of clashes between police and protesters.

Taking note of the air raid on the hospital, the rulers of Jordan, Egypt and the Palestinian Authority canceled a scheduled meeting with the US President Joe Biden who arrived in the region on October 18. President Biden had to meet a range of Arab leaders. But, Jordan also cancelled that summit after an explosion at the al-Ahli Arab Hospital.

With the perennial blockage of the Gaza strip, several hospitals have been closed due to shortages of fuel, food, water and generators. Gaza’s only cancer hospital Turkish-Palestinian Friendship Hospital was forced to shut down after running out of fuel, and the Indonesian Hospital which has now been forced to run on its backup generator is likely to be closed.

Taking cognizance of Israeli brutal tactics on Gazas, addressing thousands of supporters at one of the largest pro-Palestinian rallies, Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan stated: “Israel has been openly committing war crimes, but the Western leaders cannot even call on Israel for a ceasefire…let alone react to it…Palestinian group Hamas is not a terrorist organization…But freedom fighters…Israel is an occupier”.

Recently, US President Biden opposed any ceasefire and encouraged Tel Aviv to continue its cruel tactics and genocide of the Gazas. In this connection, America also vetoed a Russian resolution regarding truce.

Nevertheless, regarding President Erdogan’s realistic approach, Israel said on October 28, 2023 that it was recalling its diplomatic staff from Turkiye.

In the meantime, Chile, Colombia and Jordan announced on November 1, 2023 that they are recalling their respective ambassadors to Israel over Israel’s bombardments of the Gaza enclave. These decisions come one day after the Bolivian government announced it was severing diplomatic ties with Israel, making it the first country to take such a step—With the unacceptable violations of international humanitarian law which Israel has incurred in the Gazans.

While pro-Israel demonstrations are condoned in India, and pro-Palestinian marches have been crushed.

On October 23, 2023, hundreds of Indians, mostly student groups and activists, held a peaceful demonstration in front of the Israeli embassy in New Delhi to show solidarity with Palestinians. Soon Delhi’s police dispersed the protesters and started detaining them.

When the UN General Assembly on October 26, 2023 adopted a resolution, calling for an “immediate, durable and sustained humanitarian truce” between Israeli forces and Hamas militants in Gaza, demanding provision of lifesaving supplies and services for civilians trapped inside the enclave—India abstained in the General Assembly from voting to please its Israeli masters, especially the US.

Notably, as part of the anti-Muslim approach, India with its own colonial past is now standing with a colonialist state. With a moral compass guided by its old relationship with British colonialism, New Delhi once empathized with Palestine’s push for sovereignty. It was among the first non-Arab countries to recognize Palestinian independence in 1988!

Nonetheless, India, under the BJP’s leadership, has recently been somewhat of a juggler on the international stage, balancing its relationships with shrewd caution. While Modi shared hugs with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, he also freely extended his hand in friendship to Palestinians. Yet, as cricket teaches us, even the best juggler occasionally drops a ball.

Now, where is even a single clearer statement of Modi, condemning Zionists’ brutal killings of innocents in al-Ahli Arab Hospital and on Jabalia refugee campin Gaza? Isn’t it time one raised its voice for the innocent lives lost? India has clearly failed.

The suffering of the Palestinian people today saddens all Muslims, particularly Arabs, and any indications which India is supporting Israel could cause diplomatic problems. Some analysts argue that the BJP’s policies towards Muslims and their support for Israeli strikes are a deliberate strategy aimed at demonizing Muslims.

Cornered by constant international pressure and economic gains, Modi-led fanatic goverment may be facing a difficult choice: Israel or the Arab world?

As regards Israeli-Indian secret nexus, India Today disclosed on October 27, 2023: “Eight former Indian Navy personnel who were sentenced to death by a court in Qatar on Wednesday (October 25) were charged with spying for Israel”.

In this context, Abdul Latif Bhatt of the Kashmir Watch (Website) wrote:  “India has faced yet another embarrassment at international arena. Court of Qatar has awarded death penalty to 8 former Indian Naval Officers in espionage cases. Recently, relations between Canada and India also deteriorated due to involvement of RAW [Indian intelligence agency] in murder of Hardeep Singh Nijjar. These developments are a clear indication of India’s diminished strategic importance globally. Stern actions taken by Qatar and Canada prove India’s lost relevance both in Eastern and Western blocks. It is clear that such decisions are only taken after strategic calculations in cold logic. Hence, both Western and Middle Eastern countries have concluded that India is not even a middle weight country rather an evil which needs to be straightened. It’s a stark reminder that notion of self-entitlement based on Brahmin ideology with which BJP has befooled its nation doesn’t hold up in the real world. Both these incidents are a slap on the face of so called “Shining India”, exposing her self- acclaimed false strategic value on international stage.”

It is mentionable that Hamas released 74 US citizens with dual citizenship on November 2, this year as part of good gesture to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian issue. On the same day US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said he would seek ‘concrete measures” from Israel to minimize harm to Gaza civilians as he headed on his second crisis trip to the Middle East. Blinken will spend the day Friday (November 3, 2023) in Israel. He is also expected to visit some other countries such as Jordan.

Besides, tension escalated between Lebanon-based Hezbollah fighters and Israel who have been exchanging fire across the Israeli-Lebanese border since October 7, intensified on November 2, this year when in response to Israel shelling, Hamas’s armed wing, the al-Qassam brigades admitted that its fighters in southern Lebanon were behind the missile attacks in Israeli town of Kiryat Shmosa—it had simultaneously attacked 19 positions in Israel. These occurred in wake of ferocious battle between Israeli forces and Hamas freedom fighters in the outskirts of Gaza city.

It is surprising to note that on the one side, Washington insists upon two-state solution of the Israeli-Palestinian dispute, and also wants to contain the present Gaza war, fearing escalation on regional and global level, while on the other, it supports Tel Aviv’s to continue the battle against Hamas. So, American dual strategy may culminate into world war third or a greater war between the Muslims on one side and the Jews, Christians and Hindus on the other, as world has already seems to divide on religiously lines.

Now, apartheid rules over Gaza strip, West Bank and Indian occupied Kashmir. Modi’s India and Netanyahu’s Israel are close bedfellows. Their disdain for political Islam has led to an ever-increasing political and strategic relationship which may result into a greater war as mentioned in the above paragraph.

Sajjad Shaukat writes on international affairs and is author of the book: US vs Islamic Militants, Invisible Balance of Power: Dangerous Shift in International Relations

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