India extends helping hand to Palestine, biggest plane leaves with relief material

Israel-Palestine War: India has sent humanitarian aid to Palestine, where thousands of Palestinians have been killed in the Gaza Strip. The Israeli army has caused destruction everywhere. The borders have been closed. There is a problem of food and water. Indian Air Force's C-17 aircraft today left for Egypt's El-Arish airport carrying about 6.5 tonnes of medical and 32 tonnes of disaster relief material. The material includes medicines, surgical items, tents, sleeping bags, tarpaulins, sanitation facilities, water purification tablets and other essential items. These relief materials will be sent to Gaza by road from Egypt.

🇮🇳 sends Humanitarian aid to the people of 🇵🇸!

An IAF C-17 flight carrying nearly 6.5 tonnes of medical aid and 32 tonnes of disaster relief material for the people of Palestine departs for El-Arish airport in Egypt.

The material includes essential life-saving medicines,… pic.twitter.com/28XI6992Ph

— Arindam Bagchi (@MEAIndia) October 22, 2023

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and India have adopted a soft stance on the Israel-Palestine conflict. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had expressed surprise at the Hamas attack on Israel and termed it a terrorist attack. Recently, the Prime Minister criticized the attack on a hospital in Gaza Strip, where Israel is continuously denying the attack. In one of his tweets, the Prime Minister also reiterated India's old stand on the issue of Israel-Palestine.

Indian leaders, including Jawaharlal Nehru and Mahatma Gandhi, were sympathetic to Jewish interests, but they opposed the British government's partition order for Palestine in 1947. He advocated a federal system that protects the rights of religious minorities. India recognized the State of Israel in 1950 but did not establish full diplomatic relations until 1992.

Bilateral cooperation with Israel increased under Modi government

Modi government has changed India's attitude towards Israel. Since 2014, there has been increased political engagement and bilateral cooperation between India and Israel. PM Modi became the first Indian Prime Minister to visit Israel in 2017. Earlier, the Prime Minister had also visited Palestine, where in 2017 itself, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas had hosted him and honored the PM with Palestine's biggest honour.

India's relations with both Israel and Palestine

While maintaining close ties with Israel, India has also maintained diplomatic relations with Palestine, indicating its support for Palestine. Israel is also important for India in many ways. The conflict between Israel and Palestine can be called a conflict between two sides on the diplomatic front, where one side is the West and the other side is the Middle East. India also has good relations with western countries and India's presence in the Middle East is also continuously increasing. In such a situation, it is necessary that India normalizes its relations with both Palestine and Israel.

India in support of both Israel and Palestine

India has consistently supported a two-state solution to the Israel-Palestine conflict, and called for direct negotiations between the parties involved. India wants a peaceful solution to this issue, in which an independent Palestine can be created along with Israel. In response to the recent violence during the Israel-Hamas conflict, Modi expressed grief over the terrorist attacks in Israel and expressed solidarity with the country. India has unequivocally condemned terrorism in all its forms.