In a major shift in India's foreign policy on Gulf, India made a rare move on Tuesday by voting in favour of Israel in the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) to deny the Palestinian non-governmental organisation ‘Shahed' the observer status, after Israel said the organisation did not disclose its ties with Hamas.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has thanked Narendra Modi for voting in favour of a decision introduced by the Jewish state that objected to granting consultative status to a Palestinian group at the UN's Economic and Social Council.
It is the first time that India has voted on a resolution at the UN that is being perceived as pro-Israel.
India's position on the Middle East Peace Process has been consistent and clear. India supports a negotiated solution resulting in a sovereign, independent, viable and united State of Palestine, with East Jerusalem as its capital, living within secure and recognised borders, side by side at peace with Israel as endorsed in the Quartet Roadmap and relevant UNSC Resolutions.
India has also always played a proactive role in garnering support for the Palestinian cause in multilateral fora.
New Delhi had abstained during a voting at the UNHRC in 2015 on a resolution related to violence in Gaza which was seen as a “significant move” in Israel and attributed by many to the “emerging strong chemistry between Modi and Netanyahu”.
India had then explained to the Palestinian Authority the reasons for its stand and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas had “accepted and understood” why New Delhi abstained then.
The ECOSOC vote, which took place at the UN, saw countries such as the US, France, Germany, India, Japan, the UK, South Korea and Canada polling in favour of Israel, while China, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and others voted against it.
The proposal made by the Palestinian NGO ‘Shahed' to obtain observer status in the UN was rejected by a 28-14 vote.
Maya Kadosh, deputy chief of mission at the Israel embassy in India, on Tuesday in a Tweet thanked New Delhi “for standing with @IsraelinUN and rejecting the request of terrorist organization “Shahed” to obtain the status of an observer in #UN. Together we will continue to act against terrorist organizations that intend to harm.”
