India does well not to fall in the anti-Israel trap
India did the right thing by abstaining from a recent vote at the United Nations Human Rights Council on a resolution that called for accountability of Israeli officials on alleged war crimes that have been committed in the ongoing Israeli-Palestinian conflict. While the resolution took into account a UNHRC report which spoke of “war crimes” that both the terror group Hamas and Israel had indulged in, the real target was Israel. This was clearly a one-sided resolution, and New Delhi's endorsement of the document would have been a blunder, both morally and diplomatically. India-Israel relations have been on an upswing for some time now — and especially after Mr Narendra Modi's Government took charge in May 2014. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Mr Modi met on the sidelines of UN General Assembly meeting in September 2014, and various senior Israeli Government officials have been actively interacting with their Indian counterparts in recent months to enhance the level of cooperation between the two countries in areas of trade, technology, defence and security. The Indian Prime Minister plans to visit Israel sometime later this year — the first by an Indian head of Government. Israel has been our partner in times of crisis, even if the relations between New Delhi and Jerusalem have not always been touted in the open. But now things are changing, and the ties are out of closet. This is as it should be. It makes no sense for New Delhi to embarrass a friend on global platforms; it has blundered enough in the past with regard of other friendly regimes — such as that of the then Mahinda Rajapaksa Government in Sri lanka. It is true India had voted against Israel and in favour of a UNHRC resolution in July 2014 that had instituted the inquiry report which later indicted Israel for violence in Gaza which had claimed more than 2,000 lives. But then, it is one thing to vote in favour of an inquiry and another to indict one party and leave out the other. Moreover, even after the 2014 vote for an inquiry, Minister for External Affairs Sushma Swaraj had refrained in Parliament from condemning Israel for the attacks, despite facing clamour from the Opposition benches to do so. The likes of the left parties had demanded that India extend “solidarity” with Palestine and had laid the blame for the violence on Israel alone. The Congress's response was confused. In the present case, New Delhi had another legitimate reason to abstain from the anti-Israel vote: The resolution had made a reference to the International Criminal Court. Since India is not a signatory to the Rome Statute which established the ICC, it could not support the resolution carrying its reference.
While there may have been a nuanced shift in the foreign policy of the Government with regard to India-Israel relations, it is wrong to infer that New Delhi has abandoned the stated position on its support to the Palestinian cause. The Palestinian Authority has expressed “shock” over India's abstention. On the other hand, Israel has welcomed the move. New Delhi need not be overly influenced by either of the statements. So long as it remains firmly rooted to a resolution of the just demands of the Palestinians and also at the same time opposes terror tactics by organisations to achieve those goals, it is on firm grounds.