Why Congress Is Under Fire Over Its Statement On Israel War

1. The Congress on Sunday condemned the attacks on the people of Israel saying that violence never provides any solution. A full-fledged war broke out after Hamas fired 5,000 rockets at Israel from the Gaza Strip.

2. The Congress Working Committee, the party’s highest-decision-making body, expressed its “dismay and anguish” over the war and underlined its support of the Palestinian people’s right to “land (and) self-government, and to live with dignity and respect”.

3. Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said his party has always believed that the legitimate aspirations of the people of Palestine must be fulfilled through dialogue while ensuring the national security concerns of Israelis.

4. The statement was heavily criticised by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) which claimed that Congress was supporting Hamas. BJP accused the opposition party of supporting terrorism and being a “hostage to minority vote bank politics”.

5. “Congress’s CWC resolution on the Israel war is a classic example of how Indian foreign policy was hostage to Congress’s minority vote bank politics, until Modi happened,” BJP MP Tejasvi Surya said. Taking a swipe at Congress ahead of next year’s election, the firebrand MP added, “A reminder of how quickly things will go back to zero if we aren’t vigilant in 2024.”

6. Sources said the Congress’ statement highlights divisions within the party, and that the section on the Israel-Hamas war had not been well-received by all those at the CWC meeting. Sources also suggested the inclusion of that section in the statement was a major sticking point and that it was not part of the original draft.

7. In its defence, Congress alleged that the BJP was trying to divert people’s attention and said that there are no differences in party over the ongoing war in Israel.

8. “There is no resentment and these are all rumours. It is regrettable that people are doing politics over the Congress resolution… Whether in Israel or in Gaza, we want Indian citizens to be safe. They should come back, that should be the focus,” senior Congress leader Gaurav Gogoi said.

9. Mr Gogoi also said that BJP leaders should also remember former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s stand on the Israel-Palestine conflict. Mr Vajpayee, who led the BJP government from 1999 to 2004, favoured the cause of the Palestinian people on numerous occasions.

10. The combined death toll from the war approached 3,000 and Israel’s military said it’s building a base for thousands of soldiers in preparation for the next phase of its retaliation. Hamas said late on Monday it was prepared to kill hostages that it had taken if Israel attacks.

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