Israel's Gaza bombing forces friend India to tread balanced path

Even though Israel had found brighter horizon with the assumption of office in New Delhi by its old friend Prime Minister Narendra Modi, expecting political content of the relations to grow, its bombardment in Gaza has forced India to tread a cautious path.

Modi’s key aides say, they need to tread a fine balance between the relations with Israel, which is the only democratic country in the region and supplier of military hardware and technology to India and its Arab neighbours, who are source of India’s energy requirements.

Israel continued its ceaseless bombing campaign, with air strikes taking the death toll in Gaza at 120 on Saturday. The offensive has turned the Strip into a virtual ghost town, emptying streets, closing shops and keeping hundreds of thousands of people close to home where they feel safest from the bombs. In Israel, hundreds of rockets have been also fired by Gaza militants. However, there have been no fatalities on Israeli side.

In an official statement, Ministry of External Affairs while expressing concern at the steep escalation of violence between Israel and Palestine, particularly, heavy air strikes in Gaza, asked both sides to observe restraint. “India calls upon both sides to exercise maximum restraint and avoid taking actions that may further exacerbate the situation, and threaten the peace and security of the region,” said the ministry statement.

Shashadari Chari, head of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)’s external affairs cell also agrees that India needs to keep a fine balance in West Asia, as its interests lie on both sides with Israel as well as with Arab neighbours.

Former Indian Ambassador Talmeez Ahmed also agrees that West Asia is not only crucial for India's long-term energy security and commercial interests, but also for the welfare of its seven million-strong Indian community working in the region.

Therefore, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) statement affirmed that India remains firmly convinced that dialogue remains the only viable option that can effectively address the issues confronting the region and its people. “We call upon both sides to resume direct talks at the earliest, in adherence to the obligations assumed by them under the peace process, for a comprehensive resolution of the Palestinian issue,” the statement said.

Meanwhile in Delhi, Israeli Embassy spokesman claimed that over past five days of  Operation Protective Edge, Israel has made extensive efforts to avoid civilian casualties in the Gaza Strip.  He said a vast majority of Israel's population is in the range of Hamas missiles, and almost 120 rockets have been fired on  Israel's major cities. “”Israel will continue to protect its civilians against Hamas attacks on them and will continue to conduct its operations in full accordance with international law – including by only attacking legitimate military targets, and will continue its efforts to minimize the harm to the civilian population. A situation in which millions of its citizens are forced to live under a barrage of missiles, cannot be tolerated,” said the spokesman.

He blamed Hamas for using Gaza residents as human shields, as it produces, stores & launches rockets from the midst of Gaza civilian population. Describing Hamas a continuation of other extremist Islamist organizations such as ISIS, Al-Qaeda and Boko Haram, which aspires to establish a violent, repressive Islamist state, the spokesman said Israel has not closed border crossing and allows humanitarian relief in Ghaza. “Border crossings into Gaza are still open but for limited use especially for emergency medical assistance and the transfer of humanitarian aid. Yesterday, 180 trucks crossed into the Gaza Strip via the border crossings. Red cross workers can pass when necessary, but access for reporters is conditional on the security situation and must be coordinated a few hours beforehand,” he claimed.