Context:

• Recently, the Prime Minister conveyed condolences to Palestine President Mahmoud Abbas  at the loss of civilian lives at the al-Ahli hospital in Gaza. 

Humanitarian assistance to Palestine

• India will send humanitarian assistance to Palestine amid ongoing conflict.

Evolution of India Palestine Relations 

• 1974: India became the first Non-Arab State to recognize Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) as the sole and legitimate representative of the Palestinian people. 
• 1988: India became one of the first countries to recognize the Palestinian State. 
• 1996: India opened its Representative Office in Gaza, which was later shifted to Ramallah in 2003.
• 2003: India also voted in favor of the UNGA Resolution in October 2003 against construction of the separation wall by Israel.
• 2011: India voted in favor of Palestine becoming a full member of UNESCO. 
• 2012: India co-sponsored and voted in favor of the UNGA Resolution that enabled Palestine to become a ‘non-member Observer state’ at the UN without voting rights.
• 2017: Narendra Modi became the first Indian prime minister to visit Israel, without visiting Palestine, paving the way for Dehyphenation in foreign policy towards Israel-Palestine. 

India’s Dehyphenation of Policy towards Israel and Palestine

• De-hyphenation means dealing with two countries, having an adversarial relationship between them, in an independent manner. This would mean building a relationship with one, ignoring the complexities of its relations with the other.
  • For Example: The United States (US) has advocated such a policy vis-à-vis India and Pakistan, since the second-term Bush presidency, connoting that its relationship with India would stand on its own rather than getting affected by its relations with Pakistan.

India Palestine Relations: What is the India’s  Stand over the ongoing conflict? 

• India has condemned Hamas terror  attacks on Israel while reiterated India’s long-standing principled position of Two-State Solution On the Israel-Palestine issue.
  • Two-State Solution:The two-state solution has for decades been the primary focus of efforts to achieve peace in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict
    • The two-state solution aims to establish an independent Palestinian state alongside Israel, ensuring two states for two peoples.                                    

News Source: Indian Express