Modi In Palestine

Table of Contents

WHAT JUST HAPPENED? Palestine, UAE and Oman

• Israel occupied the territories of the West Bank and Gaza Strip in the Six-Day War of 1967 and has since maintained control. Previously, these territories had been ruled by Jordan and Egypt, respectively, since the 1948 founding of Israel.

IMPORTANT PLACES

• The Sea of Galilee
• It is the lowest freshwater lake on Earth and the second-lowest lake in the world (after the lead Sea, a saltwater lake).
•The Sea of Galilee is situated in northeast Israel, between the Golan Heights and the Galilee region,

GOLAN HEIGHTS (UPSC CSE PRELIMS 2015)

The area known as ‘Golan Heights’ sometimes appears in the news in the context of the events related to:

a) Central Asia
b) Middle East
c) South-East Asia
d) Central Africa

Golan Heights is in Syria. However, the western two-thirds of this region are currently occupied by Israel, whereas the eastern third is controlled by Syria.

STATE OF PALESTINE

Most of the areas claimed by the State of Palestine have been occupied by Israel since 1967 in the consequence of the Six-Day War
India hopes Palestine becomes a free country soon, PM Modi says in Ramallah
India was one of the first countries to recognize the State of Palestine in 1988. In 1996, India opened its Representative Office to the Palestine Authority in Gaza, which later was shifted to Ramallah in 2003

FIRST INDIAN PRIME MINISTER TO VISIT PALESTINE?

• It was Jawaharlal Nehru who visited the region by virtue of being India’s first Prime Minister from 1947-1962
• Nehru had come to visit UN-deployed Indian troops in Gaza in 1960.
• Nehru visited Gaza when it was under Egypt control. UN forces were deployed as a buffer after war broke out between Egypt and Anglo-French forces over control of the Suez Canal
zone in 1956.
While Israel has been sendin g its heads of state to India since 1993, Modi became the first sitting Prime Minister to visit Israel, earlier in 2017, marking 25 years of bilateral relations
between the two countries.

“DE-HYPHENATION” OF “ISRAEL-PALESTINE”

• More recently, in December 2017, India voted in favour of a UN General Assembly resolution that declared United States President Donald Trump’s recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital to be null and void
• The fact that he is travelling to Ramallah via Amman(Capital of Jordan) rather than Tel Aviv is also a respectable decision.
• Modi flew in a Jordanian army helicopter straight from Amman to Ramallah, where he was received by his Palestinian counterpart Rami Hamdallah. Prime Minister Modi’s chopper was escorted by choppers from Israel Air Force

• The two sides signed agreements worth $50 million. The agreement includes setting up of a super speciality hospital worth $30 million in Beit Sahur and construction of a centre for empowering women worth $5 million
• Three agreements in the education sector worth $5 million and for procurement of equipment and machinery for the National Printing Press in Ramallah were also signed
• President Abbas also conferred the ‘Grand Collar of the State of Palestine’ on Prime Minister
Modi, recognising his key contribution to promote ties between India and Palestine.
• The Grand Collar is highest order given to foreign dignitaries — Kings, Heads of State/Government and persons of similar rank.

OMAN

• The country shares land borders with the United Arab Emirates to the northwest, Saudi Arabia to the west, and Yemen to the southwest, and shares marine borders with Iran and Pakistan.
• Capital Muscat
• Oman’s official religion is Islam.
• Oman has modest oil reserves, ranking 25th globally.
NOTES
• India and Oman have signed eight Memoranda of Understandings (MoUs) in different areas including defence, health and tourism

NASEEM-AL-BAHR

• Indian Naval Ships Trikand and Teg are deployed to Oman for bilateral exercise ‘Naseem Al Bahr’ or ‘Sea Breeze’.
• This exercise is the 11th edition and has been a biennial feature since 1993. The Indian ships entered Muscat on 16 Dec 17 for the harbour phase.
• Duqm port and dry dock for maintenance of Indian military vessels (2018 visit)
• Duqm is a very strategically located port. So this is a very positive development