India has maintained for decades that there must be a two-state solution to the Palestinian issue, and an increasing number of countries now not only endorse it but view it as “more urgent” than before, Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar said in a speech on Saturday . concerns about the prevailing situation in Gaza.
Jaishankar made the remarks during an interactive session at a security conference in Munich in the presence of US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock.
The foreign minister described Hamas’s October 7 attacks on Israeli cities as “terrorism” but at the same time, citing Tel Aviv’s response, said Israel has an international obligation to uphold humanitarian law.
Jaishankar said it is important that Israel must be very aware of the civilian casualties.
Explaining New Delhi’s stand on the conflict, he said there are several dimensions to it and broadly classified them into four points.
“Number one, we have to be clear that what happened on October 7 was terrorism; no caveats, no justification, no explanation. It was terrorism,” he said.
“Number two, as Israel responds, it is important that Israel should have been very aware of the civilian casualties. It has an international obligation to uphold humanitarian law,” Jaishankar said.
The Foreign Minister mentioned point three and said that the return of the hostages today is absolutely necessary.
“Number four – There is a need for a humanitarian corridor, a sustainable humanitarian corridor to deliver aid. And ultimately there must be a permanent solution, a long-term solution. Otherwise we will see a repeat,” he says. said.
The Foreign Secretary also highlighted India’s long-standing position on the Palestinian issue.
“India has certainly long believed in a two-state solution. We have maintained that position for decades and, I think, today many more countries in the world believe not only that the two-state solution is necessary, but even more urgent than that. it was in the past,” he said.
Israel has continued its military offensive in Gaza as part of its retaliation for the unprecedented attack on Israeli cities by Hamas on October 7.
Hamas killed about 1,200 people in Israel and kidnapped more than 220 others, some of whom were released during a brief ceasefire.
More than 25,000 people have been killed in the Israeli offensive, according to Hamas-led authorities in Gaza.
India has called for de-escalation of the situation and creation of conditions for an early resumption of direct peace negotiations on a two-state solution to the Palestinian issue.
India strongly condemned the Hamas terror attack.
(Only the headline and image of this report may have been reworked by Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is automatically generated from a syndicated feed.)
First print: February 17, 2024 | 11:38 PM IST