India abstains from UNGA vote on Israel-Hamas war | Decision is shocking, says Opposition; India will not side with terror: BJP

Hitting back, the BJP said India’s position on the Israel-Palestine issue is “steadfast and consistent”, and argued that those who choose to “side with terror” should do so at their own peril.

While calling for an immediate and sustained humanitarian truce in the region, the resolution does not mention the Hamas.

Leading the Congress charge was the party’s general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra. “I am shocked and ashamed that our country has abstained from voting for a ceasefire in Gaza,” she said, quoting Mahatma Gandhi that “an eye for an eye makes the whole world blind”.

“Our country was founded on the principles of non-violence and truth, principles for which our freedom fighters laid down their lives, these principles form the basis of the Constitution that defines our nationhood. They represent the moral courage of India that guided its actions as a member of the international community. To refuse to take a stand and watch in silence as every law of humanity is pulverised, food, water, medical supplies, communication and power is cut off to millions of people and thousands of men, women and children in Palestine are being annihilated goes against everything our country has stood for throughout its life as a nation,” she said.

Reacting to her remarks, BJP leader and former Union Minority Affairs Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said “those who are ‘ashamed and shocked’ must realise that India will never be on the side of terrorism”.

“Our position on the Israel-Palestine issue is steadfast and consistent. Those who choose to side with terror do so at their own peril… On a lighter note, Priyanka Ji, you should first educate yourself on things that are put out from your X account. Looks like people who have no idea of Congress’s past positions on the situation are advising you. What is worse is that in an attempt to make you look ‘better’ than Rahul, they are making you look silly,” Naqvi tweeted.

The Left parties and AIMIM’s Asaduddin Owaisi also criticised the government. “It is shocking that India abstained on a resolution overwhelmingly adopted by the UN General Assembly calling for a humanitarian truce, titled ‘protection of civilians and upholding legal and humanitarian obligations’, in the ongoing Israeli offensive in Gaza,” Left leaders Sitaram Yechury and D Raja said in a joint statement.

“India’s abstention on a resolution that was overwhelmingly adopted shows the extent to which Indian foreign policy is being shaped by being a subordinate ally of US imperialism and the Modi government’s actions for consolidating the US-Israel-India nexus. This negates India’s longstanding support to the Palestinian cause,” the statement said.

Saying that Israel has stepped up its “genocidal air and ground attacks” in the Gaza Strip, the Left leaders said “respecting the overwhelming mandate of the UNGA, there must be an immediate ceasefire.”

The CPI(M) said its top leaders would stage a dharna at its AKG Bhawan headquarters on Sunday in solidarity with the Palestinian people.

Owaisi said India’s decision to abstain reflected its “inconsistent foreign policy”. “Narendra Modi condemned the Hamas attack but couldn’t agree to a UN resolution seeking a truce. He spoke to the Jordanian King a few days ago, but abstained on a resolution that was introduced by Jordan. It is an inconsistent foreign policy,” he said.

“This is a humanitarian issue, not a political one. In abstaining on the resolution, India stands alone in the Global South, in South Asia & in BRICS. Why did India abstain on an issue concerning civilian life? After sending aid to Gaza, why abstain? What happened to ‘one world, one family’ & ‘vishwaguru’,” he said.

The Congress has always been a supporter of the Palestinian cause. It has supported the “legitimate aspirations” of the Palestinian people, even while underlining the need for better ties with Israel.

The latest conflict, however, put the Congress in a quandary. In its first official statement, the party did not name the Hamas or use the word terror, while condemning the “brutal attacks on the people of Israel”.

The Congress Working Committee (CWC) resolution later did not mention the Hamas attack at all. “The CWC expresses its dismay and anguish on the war that has broken out in the Middle East where over a thousand people have been killed in the last two days. The CWC reiterates its long-standing support for the rights of the Palestinian people to land, self-government and to live with dignity and respect. The CWC calls for an immediate ceasefire and for negotiations to begin on all outstanding issues including the imperative issues that have given rise to the present conflict,” it said.

Seeking to strike a balance, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge later condemned the “brutal attacks by Hamas on the people of Israel”, while adding that the “indiscriminate actions by Israel’s military forces in civilian areas, that includes a siege of the Gaza Strip and bombings in it” are also unacceptable.

In 1948, India was the only non-Arab country which voted against a UN-proposed partition plan of Palestine in the General Assembly that led to the creation of Israel. But the needle shifted slightly in 1992, when the then Congress government headed by P V Narasimha Rao opened an Indian Embassy in Tel Aviv, a move aimed at normalising India’s ties with Israel.

While India-Israel ties grew, the Congress-led UPA government ensured that India remained a friend of the Palestinian Authority, supporting its inclusion as a full-member of UNESCO in 2011 and co-sponsoring a resolution at the UNGA to induct it as a non-member observer state at the UN without voting rights.

In the past, the party has accused the BJP-led government of departing from India’s time-tested commitment to Palestine and throwing its support entirely behind Israel.