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Journalism of Courage
Describing the Palestinian bid to seek a full membership of the United Nations as a negative development,Israel ambassador to India Alon Ushpiz said that peace can be achieved in Jerusalem and Ramallah,and not in the glamorous halls of New York. The Israeli envoy told The Indian Express,This new development will make it difficult for direct negotiations… one should remember that direct cooperation can only bring in peace.
When asked about whether Israel has protested against Indias support to the Palestinian bid,he said,Israel and India are very close friends,and they have wide-ranging and frank discussions. Friends should not protest against each other.
Before his departure for the UN General Assembly on Wednesday,Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had sent a letter to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas,assuring him of Indias full support at the UN. Indias relations with the Palestinian people are firmly rooted in history and our ethos. India has been unwavering in its support of the cause of Palestinian peoples struggle for sovereign,independent,viable and a United State of Palestine with east Jerusalem as its capital,living within secure and recognisable borders,side by side and at peace with Israel as endorsed in the Arab Peace Initiative, Dr Singh said in his letter in response to the August 22 letter of Abbas.
While the US,as a permanent member of the council might veto its application for full membership,which has to be submitted through Security Council,sources said that Palestine,which has already declared statehood for itself,is eligible to put a draft resolution before the General Assembly for elevating its status to that of a non-member state.
Indias Permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador Hardeep Singh Puri said,There is no question of India coming under pressure on the PLO question. We were the first non-Arab nation to recognise the aspiration for Palestinian statehood. You cant be more definitive.
