Gaza has been going through an acute humanitarian crisis since the beginning of the Israel-Hamas War on October 7, 2023. More than 55,000 people, including thousands of children, have been killed in this horrific war over the past 20 months. According to a study, the Zionist Regime dropped at least 100,000 bombs on the Gaza Strip during this period of time. Tel Aviv has also been accused of creating a famine and also preventing humanitarian aid from reaching the Gazans as a tactic of war. The scenario has prompted the international community to find ways in an attempt to alleviate the humanitarian crisis.

The 193-member UN General Assembly recently adopted a draft resolution, urging both Israel and the Palestinian Hamas Movement to declare an immediate, unconditional and permanent ceasefire. At the same time, the UNGA placed a demand for an immediate, dignified and unconditional release of prisoners held by Hamas and other groups. A total of 149 votes were cast in favour of this important UN resolution, with 12 voting against and 19 abstaining. India is one of those 19 countries.

The Government of India has argued that it always abstained from voting on such a resolution as New Delhi believes that an armed conflict could only be resolved through dialogue and diplomacy. India has opined that the UN should initiate a joint effort in order to bring the two warring parties closer. The South Asian nation has long advocated a Two-State Solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, stressing that it would lead to the creation of a sovereign, independent and viable Palestinian State that would live in peace with Israel within secure and recognised borders.

India’s abstention from participating in the UN vote is unfortunate, but not accidental. According to political analysts, New Delhi made this well-planned move in order to maintain close strategic ties with Israel. Since its independence on August 15, 1947, India has backed the sovereignty of Palestine. It was one of the first non-Arab nations to recognise the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) in 1974 and the State of Palestine in 1988. At that time, India voted in favour of most of the pro-Palestinian resolutions at the UN. Although New Delhi has expressed serious concern over the current situation in Gaza, it is yet to directly condemn the Israeli atrocities in the Palestinian territory this time. Hence, it is quite clear why India has abstained from voting against Israel at the UN in recent times.

The Narendra Modi Administration has made a significant change in India’s decades-old Palestine policy. Modi’s India has decided to avoid taking sides in case of a conflict that is beyond its control. Perhaps, New Delhi has made a mistake by not taking the unprecedented humanitarian crisis in Gaza seriously. Now, India is more interested in maintaining a close strategic relationship with Israel in different spheres, including cybersecurity, intelligence and defence, for various reasons. Hence, it has decided to ignore a humanitarian issue.

Many consider India’s current strategies related to national security and counter-terrorism are largely influenced by Israel. It is also believed that New Delhi would maintain the new orientation on the Palestine issue in the near future. However, the Modi Administration would have to consider whether supporting the Palestinian cause and opposing the escalation of the Israeli atrocities in Gaza are similar issues.

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Published by Koushik Das

Koushik Das (born on May 16, 1976 in Kolkata) is a career journalist. Based in the Indian capital of New Delhi, Koushik writes mainly about foreign policies and current geopolitical issues, and rarely about other topics. His own political ideas are highly influenced by Antonio Gramsci, Louis Althusser, Michel Foucault, Michael Oakeshott and others. English philosopher and political theorist Oakeshott (Dec 11, 1901-Dec 19, 1990) says that “in political activity, men sail a boundless and bottomless sea. There is neither harbour for shelter nor floor for anchorage, neither starting-place, nor appointed destination. But we have to keep afloat”. (Rationalism in Politics, 1962) As a student of Political Science, Koushik loves to share his views on issues, which have great impacts on his thought process (and also on India, South Asia and of course on the global community), with his readers through his website – Boundless Ocean of Politics. By doing so, he tries to keep himself afloat. You will find some of his articles in https://inserbia.info/today/ (https://inserbia.info/today/author/kou_das13_i/), as he has been trying to assess the global geopolitics since 2003. You can also mail him at kousdas@gmail.com View all posts by Koushik Das