Condemn Hamas but don’t support Israel action against Palestine: Hardeep Puri

Unlocking Minds: Special Parliament session at Hindu College celebrates academic freedom https://t.co/gfUi39YpqF

— Hardeep Singh Puri (@HardeepSPuri) November 28, 2023

When a student asked whether India’s stance on the Ukraine-Russia and Israel-Hamas conflicts has been neutral, he said, “India is not neutral on Hamas’s attack on Israel and has strongly condemned this act of terrorism.” He further said, “Hamas is a terrorist group and they have attacked democracy… We support Israel’s action against Hamas in this regard. But we don’t support its action against Palestine where 2 million people live. One has to distinguish between the two.”

Puri further said, “Our stand on this has been constructive. We are against terrorism because it has caused havoc in our country as well … We suggest a two-state solution to the problem wherein both Palestine and Israel should have the right to constitute their (respective) states.”

On the Russia-Ukraine issue, he said, “One of the major impacts of the Russia and Ukraine war was on the energy sector because Russia is a major producer of energy … Due to the sanctions imposed on Russia by the West … we felt that the thing operated against the interest of countries like India but we didn’t get overwhelmed by that.”