Table of Contents
WHAT JUST HAPPENED?
- India voted in support of Israel at the UN’s Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) to deny observer status to a Palestinian human rights organisation named ‘Shahed’.
INDIA-PALESTINE RELATIONS
- India’s support for the Palestinian cause is an integral part of the nation’s foreign policy.
- In 1974, India became the first Non-Arab State to recognize Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) as the sole and legitimate representative of the Palestinian people. In 1988, India became one of the first countries to recognize the Palestinian State. In 1996, India opened its Representative Office in Gaza, which was later shifted to Ramallah in 2003
- India has played an active role in extending support for the Palestinian cause across various multilateral fora. India co-sponsored the draft resolution on “the right of Palestinians to self-determination” during the 53rd session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) and voted in favour of it. India also voted in favour of UNGA Resolution in October 2003 against construction of the separation wall by Israel. In 2011, India voted in favour of Palestine becoming a full member of the UNESCO. India co-sponsored and voted in favour of the UNGA Resolution on November 29, 2012 that enabled Palestine to become a ‘non-member Observer state’ at the UN without voting rights. India supported the Bandung Declaration on
- Palestine at the Asian African Commemorative Conference in April 2015 as well as supported the installation of the Palestinian flag at UN’s premises in September 2015.
BJP AND ISRAEL
- Under the BJP, there has been a noticeable change in how India publicly describes its relationship with Israel.
- Under the first BJP government, bilateral trade between India and Israel tripled from $675 million in 1998 to $2.1 billion in 2004.
NOTES
- Today, the Indo-Israeli relationship appears to be a success story. Bilateral, non-defense trade between the two countries has averaged $4.6 billion per annum over the last five years.
PEOPLE’S AFFECTION
- In 2009, Israel’s Foreign Ministry had commissioned a survey that found that 58 percent of Indians have sympathy for Israel.
- The greatest level of sympathy for Israel was found in India, referring to a survey of people in 13 countries including the United States, Britain, Canada, France, China and Russia.
UNITED NATIONS ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COUNCIL
- One of the six principal organs of the United Nations, responsible for coordinating the economic and social fields of the organisation, specifically in regards to the 15 specialised agencies, the eight functional commissions and the five regional commissions under its jurisdiction.
NOTES
- This is the first time India has taken a step back from its decades-old position on the two-state theory under which New Delhi sees both Israel and Palestine as separate and independent countries, seeking to bring peace in West Asia.
- The vote, which took place on 6 June at the UN, saw countries such as US, France, Germany, India, Japan, UK, South Korea and Canada polling in favour of Israel, while China, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and some others voted in favour of the Palestine body.
- The proposal made by ‘Shahed’ to obtain observer status in the UN got rejected by a 28-14 vote.
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