India Supports UN Resolution Condemning Israeli Settlements in Palestine
India has voted in favor of a United Nations resolution that condemns Israeli settlements in Palestine. The resolution, which condemns settlement activities in “Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and in the occupied Syrian Golan,” was approved on Thursday. The United States and Canada were among the seven countries that opposed it, while eighteen countries abstained from the vote.
This decision comes weeks after India abstained from a vote on a UN resolution calling for an “immediate, durable, and sustained humanitarian truce” between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
The war between Israel and Hamas, which was triggered by the October 7 attacks on Israel, has resulted in over 11,000 deaths in Gaza. Approximately 1,200 Israelis were killed in the Hamas attacks, and over 200 were taken hostage.
Sources in the government explained that India abstained from the earlier vote because it is concerned about the unfolding humanitarian crisis in Gaza but also believes there can be no equivocation on terror.
The resolution in the UNGA did not explicitly condemn the terrorist attacks of October 7. Despite voting in favor of an amendment to include this aspect, it did not obtain the required two-thirds majority.
India’s Deputy Permanent Representative, Yojna Patel, stated that India supports a negotiated Two-State solution to the Israel-Palestine issue, leading to the establishment of a sovereign, independent, and viable State of Palestine living within secure and recognized borders, side-by-side in peace with Israel.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi initially described the Hamas strike as a “terrorist” action. However, the government’s stance has become more balanced as the human cost of the war continues to rise. The Ministry of External Affairs has emphasized its advocacy for direct negotiations towards establishing a sovereign, independent, and viable state of Palestine.
