Israel-Hamas conflict: Amid bid to stoke passions in India, what they're not telling you

Shortly after India delivered a statement at the United Nations Security Council debate on "the situation in the Middle East', Congress leader Karti Chidambaram observed that India 'sticks to its sober position of supporting the two nation- Israel and Palestine theory' and then aimed to take a jibe at the BJP supporters for backing Israel. Taking to his official Twitter handle, Karti Chidambaram accused BJP of supporting Israeli aggression against Palestinians only because the vast majority of the Palestinians belong to the Islamic faith. Karti's abstraction of the situation in the Middle-East in order to inject a communal element into the debate in India, and use of the term Israeli aggression as if it's in isolation, however, serves as a severe injustice to anyone viewing his tweets as information.

What Karti Chidambaram won't tell you

The Congress MP did not, however, remark on the most glaring remark within India's statement - that India condemns the rampant firing of rockets by Hamas from Gaza towards civilian populations in Israel. Around 3,000 rockets have been fired and most have been intercepted by Israel's Iron Dome. The US has also backed Israel's right to defend itself amid this indiscriminate rocket barrage. Israel, on the other hand, has been giving warnings of its plans to destroy any civilian outposts so they may be evacuated beforehand, and has claimed that its remaining attacks have been targeted at Hamas leaders. The selective mentioning of Palestine by Karti Chidambaram is also subject to debate as Hamas, a militant organisation, has superseded the Palestine establishment and runs Gaza through a quasi-militant government.

To be sure, it was sectarian unrest in Israel that saw the situation spiralling. The region has been a tinderbox for decades, with short 'wars' and on-ground civilian movements or 'intefadas' occasionally breaking out. Amid this, during the end of the Trump administration, the US helped broker peace between Israel and a number of previously hostile neighbours. The situation with regards to the Gaza strip remains an outlier from the general Israel-Palestine issue, however, as Hamas' involvement in firing rockets from a territory it rules by force is a separate and far more dangerous thread. One may argue that Israel's casualties would have been much worse had its Iron Dome not been as effective.

Palestine-Israel Conflict: India bats for two-state resolution

Earlier on Sunday, India delivered a statement at the United Nations Security Council debate on ‘the situation in the Middle East’. India’s Permanent Representative to UN, Ambassador TS Tirumurti, delivered the remarks balancing India’s position vis-a-vis Israel and Palestine amid the ongoing conflict between the two sides.

 While on the one hand the statement reiterates India’s “unwavering” commitment to the two-State solution, the statement also “condemned” the “indiscriminate” rocket firing from Gaza and called the Israeli strikes “retaliatory” in nature and not an act of aggression as many countries have called it.

Ambassador Tirumurti, at the outset of his speech, spoke of the immense suffering caused by the violence, including the killing of Indian national Soumya Santhosh, in Rocket Fire in Israel's Ashkelon. The ambassador also stressed India’s strong condemnation of all acts of violence, provocation, incitement and destruction.

"The events of the last several days have resulted in a sharp deterioration of the security situation," said Tirumurti while also reiterated India’s strong support to the just Palestinian cause and its unwavering commitment to the two-State solution.

"Immediate de-escalation is the need of the hour, so as to arrest any further slide towards the brink. We urge both sides to show extreme restraint, desist from actions that exacerbate tensions, and refrain from attempts to unilaterally change the existing status-quo, including in East Jerusalem and its neighbourhood," he said.

India voiced support for the diplomatic efforts of the Quartet and other members of the international community, the countries in the region in particular, to “calm” the situation and put an end to the ongoing violence and seek to achieve durable peace.

UN Sec-Gen on Hamas-Israel conflict

The calls raising concerns about spiking civilian death toll in the Israel-Palestine conflict came as on May 16 the United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told the UN Security Council that the hostilities in Israel and Gaza were “utterly appalling.” While opening the 15-member council’s first public meeting on the conflict that has now been going on for several weeks, Guterres also reiterated his calls for an immediate end to the fighting.

The truce efforts are still being made by Egypt, Qatar and the UN. earlier, the United States also sent an envoy to the region and US President Joe Biden spoke with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as well as Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Saturday.

(Image: PTI, ANI, AP)