DC Edit | Modi's Visit Adds Warmth As India's Ties With Israel Grow
It was controversial that while Mr Modi made no mention of Israel’s newly approved measures to deepen control over the occupied West Bank, he did sympathise with Israel over the Hamas attack on Oct. 7, 2023, that triggered Israel’s all-out bombing of Gaza in what has been recognised as an excessive reaction to the horrific Hamas attack on civilians
The elevation of India-Israel ties to a “special strategic partnership” is a natural progression from the time the bilateral relationship was established from 2014 onwards with the significant 2017 visit of Mr Narendra Modi as the first to Israel by an Indian Prime Minister contributing more to it. Mr Modi’s second visit, about which there was an extra warmth as evidenced in the reception he received this week amid a bipartisan acknowledgement of his speech to the Israeli parliament Knesset, sealed a deepening bilateral engagement.
With 17 pacts signed and 10 announcements made regarding various sectors, the relationship has much to offer now — for India steady access to defence technology like Israel’s famous Iron Dome and missile technology that are so relevant to modern warfare and for Israel a trusted ally at a time when a fraught world is rendered anxious by conflicts in Europe and the Middle East and Israel’s role in still engaging with the Gaza Strip to stall a Hamas resurgence and its plans for the West Bank.
It was controversial that while Mr Modi made no mention of Israel’s newly approved measures to deepen control over the occupied West Bank, he did sympathise with Israel over the Hamas attack on Oct. 7, 2023, that triggered Israel’s all-out bombing of Gaza in what has been recognised as an excessive reaction to the horrific Hamas attack on civilians. But then India was among 100 countries that voted in the UN against Israel’s West Bank projects to take more control and weaken the already limited powers of the Palestinian Authority.
The point is that it is possible to run the Israel ties on one track while supporting the two-state principle on the other, as India, among many other nations, is doing. Of course, statehood for Palestine and a capital for it appears as fictional and elusive as Camelot, the capital of King Arthur’s reign. Most nations support statehood even as they condemn Israel for the sufferings of the Palestinians in Gaza but very few are willing to do much about it.
Not to conflate the issue of the pain of the Palestinians with that of an ideal homeland and statehood for Palestine would be the ideal approach and India has been steadfast in adhering to this. It is possible to support peace in Gaza and the US President Donald Trump’s Board of Peace that aims at achieving it even as it has grandiose plans to rebuild the Gaza Strip as waterfront real estate.
Achieving a balance about the Middle East and Iran is not going to be the easiest proposition. India can do better by being sympathetic to the Palestinian cause even as it stands to gain much from Isarel ties, besides trade in which India is already Israel’s second largest trading partner in Asia, second only to China, with total trade valued at $3.6 billion in the 2025 fiscal year.
The tie-up in agriculture whereby India can benefit more widely from Israeli research and water-conserving agriculture processes is important. And Israel has more to offer by way of cooperation in space tech, education, AI and cybersecurity, besides Israeli intelligence inputs for the fight against terror.
