Israel-Hamas War: Sonia Gandhi 'Strongly' Opposes India's Abstention On UN Resolution, Says Humanity On Trial

Former Congress President Sonia Gandhi in an opinion piece, clarified her party's "long-standing" stance on the Israel-Hamas conflict and said the war has put humanity on "trial".

Senior Congress leader Sonia Gandhi has said that her party is "strongly opposed" to India's abstention on the recent UN resolution on the ongoing Israel-Hamas war, adding that Congress had unequivocally criticised the attack by the militant group but now Israeli is focused on exacting revenge from a population that is largely "as helpless as it is blameless". Asserting that there can be no peace without justice, she said Congress has always supported the direct negotiations for a sovereign independent, viable and secure state of Palestine coexisting in peace with Israel.

Notably, India abstained from voting in the UN General Assembly on a resolution that called for an immediate humanitarian truce in the Israel-Hamas conflict leading to a cessation of hostilities. The resolution also called for unhindered humanitarian access in the Gaza Strip.

The resolution titled "Protection of civilians and upholding legal and humanitarian obligations" was overwhelmingly adopted with 120 nations voting in its favour, 14 against it and 45 abstaining, including India, reported India.

 

'Unfortunate That Many Countries...'

Expressing displeasure over India's absentation from voting on the UN resolution on the Israel-Hamas conflict, Sonia Gandhi wrote in an article in The Hindu, "The Indian National Congress is strongly opposed to India's abstention on the recent United Nations General Assembly Resolution calling for an 'immediate, durable and sustained humanitarian truce leading to a cessation of hostilities' between Israeli forces and Hamas in Gaza".

She said it was "unfortunate" that many countries are being "wholly partisan when they should be trying their utmost to end the war". She called for the loudest and most powerful voices to speak for a cessation of military activity. 

"Otherwise, this cycle will continue and make it difficult for anyone in the region to live in peace for a long time to come," the former Congress president added.

She mentioned that in this war, entire families have been wiped out and neighbourhoods have been reduced to rubble. "The denial of water, food and electricity is no less than the collective punishment of the Palestinian people. The outside world, particularly those who want to help, is largely blocked out of Gaza, with relief and aid reaching the needy in a trickle, and not on the scale that is necessary," she said. 

"Not only is it inhumane but it is also illegal in international law. Very few Gazans are untouched by the violence. Bottled up on a small, over-densely populated strip of territory, they have nothing to fall back upon. And now, even the occupied West Bank has flared up and the conflict is widening," Gandhi pointed out.

Referring to current developments as "humanity is on trial now", the Lok Sabha MP further wrote that the stance was made clear by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) earlier this month (on October 12). She also called for the loudest and most powerful voices to be for a cessation of military activity.

"We were collectively diminished by the brutal attacks on Israel. We are now all diminished by Israel's disproportionate and equally brutal response. How many more lives will have to be taken before our collective conscience is stirred and awakened?" she said.

Noting that the October 7 attack took place on the 50th anniversary of the Yom Kippur War, killing over a thousand people, mostly civilians, she said, "The unprecedented attack was devastating for Israel. The Indian National Congress strongly believes that violence has no place in a decent world, and the very next day unequivocally condemned Hamas's attacks."

Israel's 'Indiscriminate Operations' In And Around Gaza

The former Congress president further said that the tragedy is, however, being compounded by the Israeli military's "indiscriminate operations" in and around Gaza that have led to thousands of deaths. She said the deceased include a large number of innocent children, women and men. 

"The power of the Israeli state is now focused on exacting revenge from a population that is largely as helpless as it is blameless. The destructive might of one of the world's most potent military arsenals is being unleashed upon children, women and men who have no part in the Hamas assault; they, instead, for the most part, have been at the heart of decades of discrimination and suffering," she said in the piece, shared by party chief Mallikarjun Kharge on X, formerly Twitter.

Clarifying her party's stand on the decades-long Israel-Palestine conflict, she said there can be no peace without justice. She said that  Israel's unremitting blockade for over a decade and a half has reduced Gaza to an "open-air prison" for its two million inhabitants packed into dense cities and refugee camps. 

"In Jerusalem and the West Bank, Israeli settlers backed by the Israeli state have continued to push out Palestinians from their own land in a seeming effort to destroy the vision of a two-state solution. Peace will come only if the world, led by countries that have the ability to influence policies and events, can restart the process of restoring the two-state vision and make it a reality," Gandhi added. 

She said her party has been consistent over the years in its strong opinion that both the Palestinians and Israelis have the right to live in a just peace.

"We value our friendship with the people of Israel. But this does not mean that we erase from our memories, the painful history of forced dispossession of the Palestinians from what was their homeland for centuries, and of years of suppression of their basic right to a life of dignity and self-respect," she further wrote.

She said it was important to note that the reiteration of India's "historic position on Palestine" came only after Israel began its assault on Gaza. "The Prime Minister had made no mention of Palestinian rights in the initial statement expressing complete solidarity with Israel," she further stated.