How India's Stance on Palestinian-Israeli Conflict Evolved

With Israel declaring a "state of war" following an attack by Palestinian military movement Hamas during the weekend, which has left over a thousand dead on both sides, searches regarding the conflict have increased manifold on the internet.

Several netizens seemed interested in reading about India's stand on the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, considering Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed solidarity with the Jewish state after news of the Hamas attack on its territory trickled in.

Against this backdrop, Sputnik India looks back at how India's stance on the Palestinian-Israeli conflict has evolved.

In 1974, New Delhi elevated its ties with Palestine after it formally recognized the Yasser Arafat-led Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), which was leading a peaceful campaign for the creation of an independent state of Palestine.

The following year, the PLO opened an office in the Indian capital. Five years later, this transformed into a full-fledged High Commission there.

Subsequently, New Delhi gave formal recognition to the state of Palestine in 1988. In 1966, India opened a diplomatic office in Gaza which shifted to Ramallah years later.

However, once Arafat died in 2004, the support for Palestine started dwindling in India and elsewhere. Despite that, New Delhi voted in favor of a United Nations resolution in 2012 that helped Palestine to become a "non-member Observer state" at the global body.

But with the advent of the Narendra Modi era in 2014, New Delhi embarked on a mission to enhance its relations with Israel, with the Indian leader focusing on strengthening the country's defense ties with Tel Aviv.

Israel, known for its sophisticated weapons, was among the potential exporters of weapons to India, especially at a time when Modi was looking to collaborate with nations that were willing to transfer technology to India and produce military equipment in the world's largest democratic country.

In fact, Modi became the first Indian Prime Minister to visit Israel in 2017. Notably, Modi missed the customary pitstop in Palestine.

A policy shift in India's stand on the Israeli-Palestine issue became visible in 2019 when India abstained from voting on a resolution that demanded an investigation into human rights violations committed by Israel during its program to set up Jewish settlements in Gaza.

In the last four years, New Delhi has visibly grown close to Israel, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi openly praising the Mediterranean nation's armed forces and defense sector.