Israel’s Gaza Conflict is no concern of Indian Parliament

A SPECIAL NEWS DOCUMENT

Israel war against Palestine Gaza and Modi Regime 

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''Every Sovereign State has a Right to defend its citizens, be it Israel or India'' Modi Regime

Israel’s Gaza Conflict is no concern of Indian Parliament
Amol Parth17 Jul 2014

The Indian Parliament was witness to a bold Foreign Affairs decision rooted in realism when on July 15, the Modi Government refused to pass a resolution to condemn Israel’s attacks on Gaza. While, it is sad that there may have been some civilian casualties during the ongoing Gaza Conflict, the NDA Government’s decision to not allow the Indian Parliament to become a theatre for empty moral grandstanding was in the best interests of India.

Amid uproar in the Parliament from parties like Congress, Left, SP and PDP which were demanding that the Government bring a resolution condemning Israeli action, the Government didn’t give in to the demands of these pro-minority appeasement political forces.

The previous UPA Government during its reign had condemned the Israeli counterattacks on Palestine with its own domestic political calculations in mind. The new BJP-led Government has on the other hand chosen to put India’s interests above cynical domestic politics by refusing to meddle in a dispute in which India has hardly any interests at stake or any leverage to influence.

In Israeli-Palestinian conflict, weapons are frequently fired from both sides in which both Israel and Palestine face casualties but the number of death in Israel is very few because of Israel’s strong Defence. Israel has increased the size and number of walls separating Israeli from Palestinian territory. Israel has also withdrawn its military and all settlers from Gaza, Palestine.

India’s national interest

“We have diplomatic ties with both nations. Any discourteous reference to any friendly country can impact our relations with them,” NDTV quoted Minister of External Affairs Sushma Swaraj as saying, in the Rajya Shabha.

The Arab countries hold significance for India because of our dependence on their oil. At the same time, Israel is also important to us because of our military and strategic ties with it. India is the largest customer of Israeli military equipment and Israel is the second-largest military partner of India after Russia. Israel has poured billions of dollars of investment into Gujarat and has promised to invest in Bihar. Israel was one of the few selected nations to not condemn India’s 1998 Pokhran-II nuclear tests.

On security front, India and Israel face similar problem of terrorist attacks sponsored by neighbouring countries. According to a 2003 Rediff report, since its formation India’s intelligence agency RAW has had secret links with that of Israel, Mossad.

According to a report in Al Jazeera, Israel helped India militarily in 1962 India-China war, India-Pakistan war in 1971 and 1999 (Kargil). Israeli sensors and satellites are used extensively to monitor the Kashmir border to detect infiltration by insurgents from Pakistan. India recently put an Israeli satellite into orbit. India is also increasingly using Israel’s sophisticated drip irrigation technology to boost agricultural production.

Israel’s domestic conflicts are its internal issue. Narendra Modi Government did the right thing rejecting attempts by Left, Congress and other so-called ‘secular’ parties to discuss Israel’s internal issues in Indian Parliament. It has become a bad habit for the Leftist ecosystem in India to ignore India’s national interests while taking sides in a domestic matter of a foreign nation.

However, according to reports on July 17, official sources said that the debate on Gaza situation will take place in Rajya Sabha on July 21.

Every Sovereign State has a Right to defend its citizens, be it Israel or India. The NDA Government’s decision on July 15 respects that Sovereign Right. The Government should remain firm on its stand and not entertain any debate in the Parliament.