{"id":285424,"date":"2024-03-02T19:12:11","date_gmt":"2024-03-02T13:42:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/?p=285424"},"modified":"2024-03-02T19:12:11","modified_gmt":"2024-03-02T13:42:11","slug":"change-and-continuity-in-indias-palestine-policy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/change-and-continuity-in-indias-palestine-policy\/","title":{"rendered":"Change and continuity in India\u2019s Palestine policy"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>Source<\/strong>: This post has been created, based on the article \u201c<strong>Change and continuity in India\u2019s Palestine policy<\/strong>\u201d published in \u201c<strong>The Hindu<\/strong>\u201d on 2nd March 2024.<\/p>\n<p><strong>UPSC Syllabus Topic:<\/strong> <strong>GS Paper 2<\/strong>&#8211; International Relations-Bilateral, regional and global groupings and agreements involving India and\/or affecting India&#8217;s interests<\/p>\n<p><strong>News<\/strong>: The article discusses how India&#8217;s policy towards Palestine has evolved. Initially opposing Israel&#8217;s creation, India now balances supporting Palestine with strong ties to Israel. Despite recent events like the October 7 Hamas attack and voting patterns at the UN, India still advocates for a two-state solution and condemns violence. This shows a continued commitment to Palestine while maintaining its relationship with Israel.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>How has India&#8217;s Palestine policy evolved over the years? <\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><strong>From 1947 to 1992:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>India opposed the 1947 UN partition plan of Palestine and voted against creating Israel.<\/p>\n<p>Prime Minister Nehru compared Zionist settlers to the Muslim League in undivided India.<\/p>\n<p>In 1950, India recognized Israel but didn\u2019t establish full diplomatic relations.<\/p>\n<p>Throughout the Cold War, India was a strong advocate for Palestine, supporting a Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital.<\/p>\n<p><strong>From 1992 to October 7, 2023:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>India established full diplomatic relations with Israel in 1992.<\/p>\n<p>Despite growing ties with Israel, India continued supporting a two-state solution and a sovereign Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital.<\/p>\n<p>India&#8217;s policy included backing international initiatives like the Arab Peace Initiative and the Quartet Road map.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Post October 7, 2023:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>After the October 7 Hamas attack, India&#8217;s stance appeared to shift, showing solidarity with Israel.<\/p>\n<p>However, India&#8217;s voting at the UN still supported Palestinian rights and opposed Israeli settlements.<\/p>\n<p>India balanced its historical support for Palestine with its strategic partnership with Israel.<\/p>\n<p>For more information on India\u2019s position on the Israel-Palestine Conflict <a href=\"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/upsc-current-affairs-news\/israel-palestine-conflict-explained-pointwise\/#gsc.tab=0\">read here<\/a><\/p>\n<h2><strong>Why is supporting Palestine important for India?<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><strong>Moral and Historical Commitment:<\/strong> India&#8217;s historical stance against the partition of Palestine and support for a Palestinian state reflects its commitment to anti-colonial and anti-imperial principles.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Humanitarian Concerns: <\/strong>The conflict in Gaza, resulting in over 30,000 deaths and displacing nearly 90% of Gaza&#8217;s population, represents a major humanitarian crisis. India&#8217;s support for Palestine reflects its concern for human rights and civilian lives.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Alignment with Global South: <\/strong>India aims to be a leader in the Global South, where there is strong opposition to Israel&#8217;s actions. Countries like South Africa and Brazil have taken significant stances against Israel, which India, aspiring for similar leadership, cannot ignore.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Balancing International Diplomacy<\/strong>: India&#8217;s criticism of Israel, as voiced by External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar, shows its effort to balance diplomatic relations, maintaining a principled stance while engaging with various global players.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Strategic Interests: <\/strong>The conflict impacts India&#8217;s strategic interests in the region, especially concerning the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC) and broader stability in West Asia.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Preventing Regional Escalation:<\/strong> The ongoing conflict poses a risk of broader regional instability involving Iran, Israel, and America, all key partners for India. Supporting a peaceful resolution to the Palestine issue aligns with India&#8217;s interest in maintaining regional stability.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Act West Policy: <\/strong>An immediate end to the war and a permanent resolution to the Palestine question are integral to India&#8217;s Act West policy, highlighting its commitment to peace and stability in West Asia.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>Way forward <\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>India should continue supporting the two-state solution, as it aligns with national interests and global sentiments. India&#8217;s recent UN votes against Israeli settlements and for Palestinian rights, coupled with calls for an immediate ceasefire, reflect this stance. Balancing ties with Israel while advocating for Palestinian self-determination and condemning violence is crucial. This approach is consistent with India&#8217;s aspiration to lead the Global South and address humanitarian concerns in Gaza.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Question for practice:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Examine India&#8217;s evolving stance on the Israel-Palestine conflict and its significance in regional diplomacy and strategic interests.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Source: This post has been created, based on the article \u201cChange and continuity in India\u2019s Palestine policy\u201d published in \u201cThe Hindu\u201d on 2nd March 2024. UPSC Syllabus Topic: GS Paper 2&#8211; International Relations-Bilateral, regional and global groupings and agreements involving India and\/or affecting India&#8217;s interests News: The article discusses how India&#8217;s policy towards Palestine has&hellip; <a class=\"more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/change-and-continuity-in-indias-palestine-policy\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Change and continuity in India\u2019s Palestine policy<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10320,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1230,9],"tags":[212,239,10498],"class_list":["post-285424","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-9-pm-daily-articles","category-public","tag-gs-paper-2","tag-international-relations","tag-the-hindu","entry"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","views":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/285424","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10320"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=285424"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/285424\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=285424"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=285424"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=285424"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}