Feroze Varun Gandhi writes: New Delhi’s flip-flop on Israel-Palestine is costly for India

Israeli Jews have incontestable rights to this land. The land of Israel, as well as Judah and Palestine, has witnessed multiple settlements from various tribes. Before 4500 BCE, it was inhabited by different hunter-gatherer tribes, who slowly gave way to farmers and herders. Between 4500 and 3500 BCE, there is evidence of early metal-working and farming, with city-state formation (including the establishment of Jerusalem) by 2500 BCE and a local hegemony was established by Egypt. Egyptian control gave way due to political turmoil and invasions/migrations by the Sea Peoples between 1300 and 1200 BCE. Over time, the Israelite culture grew out of the existing Canaanite civilisation, establishing the Kingdom of Israel and the Kingdom of Judah by 11th century BCE. This kingdom, once unified, was weakened and destroyed by invasions from the Assyrian empire, with Jewish revolts leading to the destruction of Solomon’s temple and the exile of Jews to Babylon. Such exile also came with the evolution of Judaism into a monotheistic religion. The fall of Babylon to the Achaemenid Empire in 538 BCE led to the Edict of Cyrus, allowing Jews to return to Judah. The Second Temple was constructed, along with a rebuilding of Jerusalem. By the 4th century, the Greeks under Alexander conquered the land, followed by numerous revolts (such as the Maccabean revolt) and the Romans. The destruction of the Second Temple in the 1st Century BCE and a push by the Roman Empire to expel Jews created the Jewish diaspora. The events leading to the Holocaust, Jewish mass immigration and the rise of the Zionist movement, led to the establishment of the state of Israel in 1948. Israel is now here to stay. It deserves a right to exist.

However, the Palestinians have historic rights to the land as well — with established genetic links to ancient Canaanites. The establishment of Islam in the Middle East by the late 6th century led to a long period of dominance by various Islamic empires (Umayyad Caliphate, Abbasid Caliphate, Fatimid Caliphate, Mamluk and Ottoman empires), interspersed by the Crusades. This led to the Arabisation of local Palestinians, based on linguistic and cultural similarities. In 1919, Palestinian Muslims and Christians constituted 90 per cent of Palestine’s population. In 1922, following World War I, Palestine was made a mandate of Great Britain. In 1948, about 7,00,000 Palestinians were expelled and forced to migrate from the land of Israel/Palestine, with their right to return denied and the creation of a permanent stateless people. This event, the Nakba, is considered a collective trauma by Palestinians, helping to shape their national identity and political aspirations. The Palestinians should have a right to return.

This is a complex issue. The state of Israel arose driven by the Holocaust: Six million European Jews were systematically murdered under the heinous Nazi regime in Germany and its occupation of Europe. A genocide of Jews has led to the forced migration of Palestinians, creating a vicious cycle between Israeli settlements expanding and Palestinian homes smouldering, while attacks continue unabated on innocent Israelis and Israeli Arabs getting caught up in between. Israel, stuck between Hezbollah and Hamas, has retaliated to rocket attacks and kidnappings. But these attacks themselves have been provoked by Israel’s policy of discouraging Palestinian aspirations. Various solutions have been offered — the land for peace formula, a confederation between Jordan and the West Bank, an independent Gaza, and outright annexation/settlement by Israel of remaining Palestinian territories — none of them have proved satisfactory at restoring peace and amity between Israel and the Palestinians. More recently, the Abraham Accords have sought to break the jinx by establishing diplomatic relations between select Arab states and Israel. However, the conflict continues.

India’s policy towards Israel and Palestine has historically been a principled one — India identified with the Palestinian struggle in the 1950s, inspired by a wave of independence movements across the British Empire. India voted against the partition of Palestine in 1947 and was the first non-Arab state to recognise the PLO as the representative of Palestinians. It also was one of the first countries to recognise the State of Palestine in 1988. India co-sponsored the draft resolution on the right of the Palestinian people for self-determination in the 53rd session of the UN Assembly and voted against the construction of the separation wall by Israel in a UN General Assembly session in October 2003. It has maintained diplomatic relations with the Palestinian Authority, with multiple visits to India by the late President Yasser Arafat and President Mahmoud Abbas, culminating in the visit to the West Bank by the current Prime Minister in February 2018. India has and continues to provide material and diplomatic aid to Palestine, with significant investments in monetary assistance, education, healthcare, sports and capacity building.

However, in the Global South, there is an increased perception that India is drifting from its historical neutrality on the Palestinian issue. Pranab Mukherjee’s milestone visit to East Jerusalem in 2015 was greeted by protestors questioning India’s growing ties with Israel. More recently, India expressed its support for Israel immediately after the attacks by Hamas. A few days later, the Ministry of External Affairs reiterated India’s commitment to the two-state solution. Then, India abstained from a UN resolution for a humanitarian truce in Gaza. Shortly after, it voted in favour of a resolution condemning settlement activities in the Occupied Palestinian Territory. This switching of positions has appeared paradoxical, at odds with that of most developing countries. To emerge as a counsel and leader of the Global South, India’s foreign policy will need to be consistent.

While India has a significant footprint in global affairs, it has limited leverage in the Israel-Palestine conflict. Our strategic interests in West Asia increasingly lie with the Gulf Arab states, embracing economic integration and physical interconnectivity. India should bolster its paltry humanitarian aid ($35 million over the past two decades) for the Palestinian people. Beyond this, we can continue to send medical and disaster relief aid to Gaza. We could push Israel and the Palestinian Authority to resume direct negotiations for establishing a sovereign, independent and economically viable state of Palestine, which lives side by side and in peace with the state of Israel. Protests in favour of Palestinians must not be curtailed (as was done with students from Aligarh Muslim University in early October).

Hamas deserves condemnation for continuing to hold on to hostages — any further violence from them must be called out. Similarly, Israel might be pushed to remove settlements in the West Bank, reduce the use of excessive force and asked to further negotiate for the release of more hostages. India can re-establish its principled approach on this topic, highlighting the merits of nonviolent struggle for the Palestinians, as well as the use of strategic patience and democratic co-option by Israel.

Any further dilution of India’s historic and principled stand would be detrimental to our long-term aspirations, our perception as an inclusive nation and our strategic interests in West Asia. Before the incidents of October, there was the vision of a well-integrated Indo-Arab-Israeli world emerging in West Asia. We must make it happen.

The writer is a BJP MP