India abstains from UNGA vote against Israel, says focus should be “building bridges”

Sources say sanctions and arms export ban may have spurred decision for Indian vote, at variance with Global South countries

The effort of the United Nations should be to “build bridges” between the Israeli and Palestinian sides, said India, explaining a decision to abstain from a resolution at the UN General Assembly that called on Israel to vacate Palestinian territories on the basis of an opinion by the International Court of Justice (ICJ).

India was among 43 nations that abstained from the resolution, which was adopted by the UN body, as more than two-thirds of the countries present, a massive 124 (of 181) voted in favour of it. Sources said the resolution’s calls for sanctions, and to stop arms exports to Israel may have also spurred India’s decision to abstain.

“Our joint efforts should be directed towards bringing the two sides closer, not drive them further apart. We should strive towards building bridges, not furthering the divides,” said India’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations P. Harish giving the Explanation of Vote (EoV) after the abstention. 

In the explanation, Mr. Harish reiterated India’s position on a two-state solution for Israel-Palestine peace, and the importance of the UN charter. He also repeated India’s formulation of the violence, which blames neither Hamas for the terrorist attacks last year that killed over 1,200, and took about 250 hostages, nor does it name Israel for the reprisal bombardment of Gaza and the West Bank that has left more than 35,000 dead, including nearly 15,000 children, according UN figures. 

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“We unequivocally condemn the terror attacks on Israel on 7th October 2023; we condemn the loss of civilian lives in the conflict; we call for an immediate ceasefire and immediate and unconditional release of all hostages; and we stand for unrestricted and sustained humanitarian assistance in the Gaza Strip,” the EoV said, adding that India remains an advocate of “dialogue and diplomacy”.

The abstention by India was a marked departure from its previous record of voting in favour of resolutions that call on Israel to withdraw troops from occupied Palestinian territories including Gaza. Sources said India abstained as it had some differences over the wording of the resolution, that imposes a one-year deadline on Israel to withdraw forces from occupied territories, which some of the other abstaining countries called “unrealistic”.

In particular, the sources pointed to the UNGA resolutions demand for punitive sanctions on Israel, which are not contained in the ICJ opinion that the UNGA had requested in December 2022, and was finally delivered on July 19 this year.

In para 5, the UNGA resolution (A/ES-10/L.31/Rev.1) moved by the State of Palestine and about 30 co-sponsors calls for sanctions, including “travel bans and asset freezes”, against Israeli officials and others who enable the illegal occupation. In addition the resolution calls for other countries to stop imports of products manufactured in illegal Israeli settlements and to stop the “transfer of arms, munitions and related equipment to Israel, the occupying Power, in all cases where there are reasonable grounds to suspect that they may be used in the Occupied Palestinian Territory”. 

Indian companies have joint ventures with Israeli defence companies, and manufacture, under license, some parts which go back to parent companies in Israel and these can be sold to anyone by them, officials say while asserting that India’s exports to Israel are very low.

The non-binding resolution followed two waves of bombings across Lebanon that killed about 30 people and wounded 3,000 as pagers and personal devices packed with explosives were detonated, that the Lebanese government has blamed Israel for and came ahead of the one year mark of the attacks in Israel and Israeli operations on Gaza . 

India’s vote, that is seen as support for Israel, appeared to be at some divergence from recent remarks by the government. At an India-Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) meeting in Riyadh last week External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar had said that the situation in Gaza was the “foremost concern”. 

“While we condemn acts of terrorism and hostage taking, we are deeply pained by the continuing death of innocent civilians,” Mr. Jaishankar said at the meeting, detailing India’s support to the Palestinian cause. In March this year, he had also told a gathering in Malaysia that there is the “underlying issue” of Palestinian rights and the “fact that they have been denied their homeland.”  

Published - September 19, 2024 05:05 am IST