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India-Israel Arms Deal Amidst War Sends Strong Political Message

India-Israel Relations Highlight the Need for Broader Regional Engagement in the Middle East. India favours a two-state solution with East Jerusalem as the capital of an independent Palestinian state.

By Omair Anas, 360info
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India-Isreal relations

India-Israel relations underscore the need for broader Middle East engagement. India supports a two-state solution with East Jerusalem as Palestine's capital. | Photo courtesy: Neufal54 via Pixabay, Pixabay Licence

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India-Israel dynamics place India's Middle East diplomacy under pressure from the Arab-Israeli crisis. India's consistent policy of supporting a two-state solution with East Jerusalem as the capital of an independent and viable Palestinian state remains unchanged.

Nevertheless, much has changed about how India reinterprets the meaning and the context of its Palestine policy. 

After the October 7 Hamas attack on Israel, Indian media and right-wing public opinion had overwhelmingly supported the Israeli military response in Gaza. New-Delhi-based Arab diplomats expressed their unease over the increasingly hostile public opinion towards Palestine.

India-Israel: Beyond the balancing act

The ruling Bhartiya Janta Party’s pro-Israeli gestures are no secret to the Arab diplomats. They knew that a BJP-led government in New Delhi would start a new chapter of relations with Israel beyond the traditional “balancing act.” 

The BJP and its eco-system of support see Israel as a country that always stood with India in times of crises with Pakistan. 

Israel, aware of India-Pakistan disputes, fully used this as an opportunity and kept its normalisation efforts with Pakistan secret to avoid India’s sensitive public opinion. 

Those who are aware of Israel’s efforts to normalise ties with Pakistan understand that two Muslim nations, Pakistan and Indonesia, remain top priority for Israel and its Western backers who facilitated the Abraham Accords

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