Israeli attack on Gaza deplorable: Pranab

Describing the recent Israeli attacks on Gaza as “deplorable”, External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Tuesday said that the Indian Government has strongly urged all parties to end this cycle of violence in the region.

Mukherjee was speaking at the book launch of Vice-President Hamid Ansari’s book — Travelling through Conflict — which is a compilation of Ansari’s essays on the politics of West Asia. “Peace in West Asia has been an illusory hope. It will remain a distant possibility unless we act with urgency. Nobody can tolerate these incidents of mindless violence, the situation is deplorable,” Mukherjee said.

Ansari said: “There is an external attempt to reform West Asia. Reform processes in societies cannot be externally induced.”

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Talking about the book, the Vice-President said, “This was not planned as a book. I did not set to prove a thesis. Look at it and make your own judgement.”

Praising the book, Mukherjee said, “It shows the richness of his experience as a diplomat.”