India has voted in favor of a UN resolution condemning Israeli settlements in Palestine. The resolution was approved last Thursday, condemning settlement activities in the occupied Palestinian territories, including East Jerusalem, and the occupied Syrian Golan.
Since last October 7, the conflict between the Palestinian independence armed group Hamas and Israel has been going on. Since the beginning of the conflict, India has abstained from voting on various resolutions raised in the United Nations.
Indian media NDTV reported this information in a report on Sunday (November 12).
According to the report, India has voted in support of the UN resolution condemning the Israeli settlements in Palestine. However, seven countries, including the United States and Canada, objected to the proposal. And 18 countries abstained from voting.
India had earlier abstained from voting on a UN resolution calling for an ‘immediate, sustainable and effective humanitarian ceasefire’ between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip. But this time the country voted against Israel.
Explaining the decision to abstain from participating in the earlier vote, several Indian government sources said that while India is concerned about the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, New Delhi believes there can be no concessions against terrorism.
A source told Indian news agency PTI at the time, “The UN General Assembly resolution did not include any explicit condemnation of the October 7 ‘terrorist attack’.” And so an amendment was brought to include this matter before the vote on the original proposal.’
India voted in favor of that amendment, and India’s Deputy Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Yojana Patel, explained the vote at the time, saying, ‘We have our condolences for the prisoners held by Hamas. We call for their immediate and unconditional release.’
He said, ‘This humanitarian crisis needs to be tackled. We welcome the increasing efforts of the international community and the delivery of humanitarian aid to the people of Gaza. India has also contributed to this effort.’
Incidentally, Hamas launched an operation called ‘Operation Al-Aqsa Flood’ on October 7 to respond to the violation of the sanctity of Al-Aqsa Mosque, the third holiest religious site of Muslims, and the persecution of illegal settlers.
About 1,200 Israelis were killed in this attack by Hamas. It has been officially confirmed that more than three hundred army personnel are among the dead. Another 4,500 Israelis were injured in the Hamas attack. In addition, at least 242 people, including army officers and soldiers, were captured by Hamas and taken to Gaza.
Soon after that October 7 attack, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi described the Hamas attack as a ‘terrorist attack’. India’s unequivocal support to Tel Aviv was also announced at the time, without any mention of Palestine.
In a subsequent statement on the issue, the Indian Ministry of External Affairs said that India had always ‘supported the establishment of a sovereign, independent and viable Palestinian state through direct negotiations’.
formula: NDTV
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