Parliamentary committee meeting: Discussion on Israel-Palestine conflict attached to the Ministry of External Affairs

New Delhi| In the meeting of the Parliamentary Standing Committee related to the Ministry of External Affairs, the Foreign Secretary gave a detailed presentation on the Israel-Palestine conflict and India’s role. The Foreign Secretary said that India has long-standing relations with both Israel and Palestine. India is deeply concerned about the recent humanitarian crisis and is in favor of a peaceful resolution of the issue. He reiterated that India’s stand has always been clear in favor of Palestine.

In the meeting, an MP raised the question that even when India is providing humanitarian aid to Palestine, why does it still seem to be standing in favor of Israel. On this, the Foreign Secretary clarified that Palestine has a distinct identity for India and it has a balanced approach on this issue.

According to the information, India sent humanitarian aid to the people of Palestine through the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA). The first consignment of this aid consists of 30 tones of medicines and food ingredients. Apart from this, the issue of sourness in India’s relations with Canada in recent times was also raised in the meeting. However, the Foreign Secretary did not make any clear comment on this.

The issue of border dispute with China was also raised by some opposition MPs in the meeting. On this, the Foreign Secretary said that India is trying to restore the situation before 2020. He also said that a separate reply will be sent to the members in this regard. The objective of this meeting was to clarify India’s foreign policy and strengthen its position on global issues, especially at a time when international politics is witnessing instability.