India’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Ruchira Kamboj, reiterated India’s support for a ‘Two-State solution’ for Israel and Palestine during a UN Meeting on Thursday. Kamboj stressed India’s commitment to facilitating an independent Palestinian state alongside Israel, ensuring both nations’ security needs are addressed.
“India is committed to supporting a Two-State solution where the Palestinian people are able to live freely in an independent country within secure borders, with due regard to the security needs of Israel,” Kamboj said at a UN meeting.
This reaffirmation of India’s stance comes after External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said that ‘Palestinians have been deprived of their homeland’. During an event in Malaysia (in March), Jaishankar had labelled the October 7 attack as terrorism, while also acknowledging Israel’s right to defend itself.
“The fact remains that regardless of the circumstances, the core issue revolves around the rights of the Palestinians and their long-standing quest for statehood,” Jaishankar remarked.
READ | Palestinians Have Been Denied Of Their Rights, Homeland: Jaishankar Amid Israel-Hamas War
Prime Minister Narendra Modi was among the first global leaders to condemn Hamas’ attack on Israel on October 7. India has consistently advocated for a ‘two-state solution’ to address the protracted Israel-Palestine conflicts.
Meanwhile, in the United States, President Joe Biden’s administration faced pressure from fellow Democrats to urge Israel to refrain from launching a full-scale invasion of Rafah, a city sheltering a major portion of Gaza’s population, news agency Reuters reported.
As per the report, a letter signed by 57 House Democrats urged the administration to dissuade Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu’s government from launching a large-scale assault on Rafah. The escalating violence has resulted in casualties on both sides, exacerbating the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.