Sir — last year, when Prime Minister Modi paid a state visit to Israel, most who were critical of the BJP regime came down on him like a ton of bricks accusing him of not visiting the Palestinian territories. This was the first time, they said, when a high-ranking Indian dignitary had pointedly omitted Palestine while visiting Israel.
Of course, nitpickers were not expected to say sorry but all along a visit to Palestine was in the works even at the time when Modi was in Israel. Having de-hyphenated Palestine-Israel ties, the Prime Minister visited Palestine, combining it with his visit to the United Arab Emirates and Oman. And what might have further come as a surprise to his visceral critics, was that he did reiterate India’s support for the creation of a sovereign, independent state of Palestine. Under him, it is surely possible for India’s foreign policy to de-hyphenate Israel and Palestine, and have fruitful ties with both of them.