As the Israel-Hamas conflict entered its second month, India on Thursday urged both the sides to eschew violence, de-escalate the situation and create conditions for an early resumption of direct peace negotiations towards a two-state solution to the Palestine issue. Without naming Hamas, India also called for "immediate and unconditional" release of hostages.
At a media briefing, Spokesperson in the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) Arindam Bagchi said India has made its position clear on the Hamas-Israel conflict on multiple occasions including during the UN General Assembly debate on October 27. "We have strongly condemned the horrific attack on Israel, urged the need for zero tolerance for terrorism and called for immediate and unconditional release of hostages," he said.
While India did condemn terrorism in the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), it abstained from a vote calling for an immediate "humanitarian truce" in Gaza Strip. India voted in favour of an amendment that sought the inclusion of a paragraph in the resolution condemning the October 7 attack on Israel by Hamas that began the ongoing war.
On Thursday, Bagchi however reiterated that India conveyed deep concerns at the humanitarian crisis in Gaza and the increasing civilian toll and welcomed efforts to de-escalate the situation and provide humanitarian assistance.
Israel looking to hire Indian workers to replace Palestinians
When asked about reports that the Israeli construction industry is looking at recruiting 100,000 Indian workers to replace the 90,000 Palestinians, Bagchi said he was not aware of any such requests from Tel Aviv. In a larger context however, he said India has been working towards giving its citizens access to the "global work place".
"In this regard, we have been in discussion on trying to get into mobility agreements with a number of countries. Such frameworks and agreements ensure that our people are treated fairly, their rights are protected and they are not discriminated against," Bagchi said.
