India on Thursday said that it was one of the first countries to recognise Palestine and has long supported the two-state solution to end the Israel-Palestine conflict.
India also said that the deaths of civilians in the airstrike in Rafah was ‘heartbreaking’ and highlighted that it has taken note of the fact that Israel has launched a probe into the deaths of civilians.
“India was one of the first countries to recognise the state of Palestine in the late 1980s, and we have long supported two state solution which entails the establishment of a sovereign, viable and independent state of Palestine within recognised and mutually agreed borders, living side by side with Israel in peace,” the external affairs ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said.
“The heartbreaking loss of civilian lives in the displacement camp in Rafah is a matter of deep concern. We have consistently called for protection of the civilian population and respect for international humanitarian law in the ongoing conflict,” the spokesperson said.
“We also note that the Israeli side has already accepted responsibility for it as a tragic accident and announced an investigation into the incident,” Jaiswal further added.
The external affairs ministry’s note on India-Palestine relations says that New Delhi’s support for the Palestinian cause has long been a key aspect of its foreign policy.
In 1974, India became the first non-Arab state to recognize the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) as the sole and legitimate representative of the Palestinian people. In 1988, India was among the first countries to recognize the Palestinian state. India opened its Representative Office in Gaza in 1996, which was later moved to Ramallah in 2003, the note by the ministry reads.
There have been regular high-level bilateral visits between India and Palestine. Prime Minister Narendra Modi made a historic first-ever visit to Palestine on February 10, 2018. Former President Pranab Mukherjee also made a historic first-ever visit to Palestine in October 2015.
In addition to strong political support, the note mentions that India has provided significant economic assistance to the Palestinian people. This includes funding the construction of the Jawaharlal Nehru Library at Al Azhar University in Gaza and the Mahatma Gandhi Library-cum-student activity centre at Palestine Technical College.
India has actively supported the Palestinian cause in various international forums. During the 53rd session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), India co-sponsored and voted for the draft resolution on “the right of Palestinians to self-determination”, the note says.
In 2015, India financed the construction of two schools: Jawaharlal Nehru Secondary School for Boys in Abu Dees and Jawaharlal Nehru Secondary School for Girls in Ashira Al-Shamaliya. India also established the India-Palestine Centre of Excellence in ICT at Al-Quds University in Abu Dees, a Digital Learning and Innovation Centre at Al Quds University in Ramallah, and supplied vocational training equipment to centres in Yatta and Hebron.
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