New Delhi:

Referring to the conflict in the Middle East and the Israel-Palestine issue, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Wednesday said that eventually, India supports a homeland for the Palestinians and is public about its stand.

While speaking at Gargi College on Vishwa Bandhu Bharat, S Jaishankar said, “So you have a very tense, very complicated situation involving Israel, involving the Palestinians, involving many of the Arab countries, the Gulf monarchies, involving Iran. There was an exchange of the Iranians and the Israelis a few days ago, they fired on each other.”

“Now, look at how a Vishwa Bandhu would approach this situation. We were very clear when Israel was, on October 7, when the terrorists attacked Israel that this was terrorism. We took a clear stance on it. When Israel responded, we also took a position that, whenever any military response takes place, it is very important that civilian lives are protected. And if you are displacing civilians, so they are no longer in their homes, you have to give some kind of humanitarian corridor out there. We also have, when Israel and Iran started firing at each other,” S Jaishankar said.

In his address at Gargi College EAM Jaishnkar also shared that, on the Prime Minister’s instructions, he personally contacted the foreign ministers of the involved parties, expressing regional concerns and urging restraint.

“I personally called up the two foreign ministers there on the Prime Minister’s instructions and basically told them saying, look, the whole region is worried. I mean, we urge you, don’t go forward on this. And today, actually while we are doing all of this, and by the way, in terms of the Middle East, we support eventually a homeland for the Palestinians and we are very public about that as well, ” said S Jaishankar.

S Jaishankar also noted India’s practical contribution to the situation, with around 20 ships deployed in the Red Sea to mitigate attacks on shipping, which disrupt trade and increase costs.

“We also today make a practical contribution. About 20 of our ships are actually in the Red Sea, making sure that these attacks on shipping, which increase the cost of trade, that those attacks are limited. So I give you again, just think how many parties, Israelis, Palestinians, the Arab countries out there, the Iranians, and yet we are able to actually engage all of them,” EAM stated.

Following this, S Jaishankar also mentioned the Russia-Ukraine conflict which started in February 2022, and said, “We had urged students to come home. The vast majority of students stayed and found themselves in the conflict zone. They were in different cultures and different cities.”

S Jaishankar mentioned the continuous efforts to engage with the neighbouring countries to ensure the students’ safe evacuation of the student while highlighting the Vishwa Bandhu foreign policy’s role.

“Here is the challenge that we faced with how to bring students from a conflict zone…Think about what it means in terms of how you achieved this. One was to ensure initially that many people could come as soon as possible…There was shooting, and bombardment going on…You have to get the governments of other countries to cooperate with you. This is what a Vishwa Bandhu foreign policy works like. We had to continuously contact the five countries which were neighbouring there,” said S Jaishankar

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Kuala Lumpur:

In a strong statement on the Israel-Palestine issue, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said that whatever the rights and wrongs in the whole conflict between Israel and Palestine, the underlying fact is that the Palestinians have been denied their rights and homeland.

He stated that what transpired on October 7 was a ‘terrorist attack’ but also acknowledged, in reference to the Israeli counteroffensive in Gaza, that every response must take into account something called international humanitarian law.

Mr Jaishankar, who is on a visit to Malaysia, was interacting with the Indian community during an event.

“How different pulls and pressures can be. On one hand, what happened on October 7 was terrorism. On the other hand, nobody would countenance the death of innocent civilians. Countries may be justified in their own minds in responding, but you cannot have a response that…every response must take into account something called international humanitarian law,” Jaishankar said.

“The fact is whatever the rights and wrongs of the issue, there is underlying issue of the rights of the Palestinians and the fact that they have been denied their homeland,” he added.

Hamas launched a horrific terror attack in Israel on October 7 killing more than 1200 people and holding more than 250 people as hostages, out of which over 100 are still in captivity.

In response, Israel launched a strong counteroffensive in the Gaza Strip targeting the Hamas units. However, the operation has also resulted in civilian casualties. According to Gaza ministry, more than 32,000 people have been killed in Gaza including women and children.

Notably, PM Modi was one of the first global leaders to condemn the horrific terror attack on Israel by Hamas on October 7.

However, India has also continued with its weight behind the ‘two-state solution’ to the long-running Israel-Palestine conflict.

Meanwhile, Mr Jaishankar is on an official visit to Malaysia, followed by his visits to Singapore and the Philippines.

Earlier in the day, he called on Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim and expressed admiration for his vision aimed at fostering stronger ties between India and Malaysia. He also emphasised that this vision will serve as a catalyst for crafting a more ambitious agenda to advance the relationship between the two nations.

He also held a round-table meeting with CEOs in Malaysia and appreciated their growing interest in partnering with Indian industries.

“A productive round-table meeting with CEOs in Malaysia. Glad to hear about growing interest in partnering with Indian industries. Encouraged them to join in India’s growth story. Discussed geopolitical developments that can provide more opportunities in business interactions,” the EAM posted on X.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)