Days after India voted in favour of Israel in the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) to deny the Palestinian non-governmental organisation (NGO) ‘Shahed’ the observer status, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday thanked his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi for voting in favour of a decision introduced by the Jewish state.
Israel said the organisation did not disclose its ties with Hamas and objected to granting consultative status to a Palestinian group at the UN’s Economic and Social Council.
“Thank you @NarendraModi, thank you India, for your support and for standing with Israel at the UN,” Mr Netanyahu said in a tweet on Wednesday, almost a week after the June 6 vote.
Thank you @NarendraModi, thank you India, for your support and for standing with Israel at the UN. 🇮🇱🇮🇳
— Benjamin Netanyahu (@netanyahu) June 12, 2019
It is the first time that India has voted on a resolution at the UN that is being perceived as pro-Israel.
India’s position on the Middle East Peace Process has been consistent and clear. India supports a negotiated solution resulting in a sovereign, independent, viable and united State of Palestine, with East Jerusalem as its capital, living within secure and recognised borders, side by side at peace with Israel as endorsed in the Quartet Roadmap and relevant UNSC Resolutions.
India has also always played a proactive role in garnering support for the Palestinian cause in multilateral fora.
New Delhi had abstained during voting at the UNHRC in 2015 on a resolution related to violence in Gaza which was seen as a significant move in Israel and attributed by many to the emerging strong chemistry between Modi and Netanyahu.
The ECOSOC vote, which took place at the UN, saw countries such as the US, France, Germany, India, Japan, the UK, South Korea and Canada polling in favour of Israel, while China, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and others voted against it.
The proposal made by the Palestinian NGO ‘Shahed’ to obtain observer status in the UN was rejected by a 28-14 vote.