In the first address ever by an Indian Prime Minister to the Israeli Parliament Knesset, Narendra Modi said, India “stands firmly with Israel in this moment and beyond.”
Modi got a rare standing ovation from Israeli MPs and for nearly two minutes, there were chants of ‘Modi, Modi’ inside the Parliament.
In his welcome speech, Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu described Modi as his “brother, not friend”. India, he said, is a big, powerful country, and Israel is relatively small, but both the nations can join hands to multiply their strength and capability.
Netanyahu pointed out, both India and Israel were under British rule and got freedom around the same time, both the countries have adopted democracy, and both can now show a new path to the rest of the world.
In his address, Narendra Modi said, it was his fortune to address the people’s representatives of one of the oldest cultures of the world as a respresentative of the world’s oldest civilization. “I have brought the message of friendship from 1.4 billion people of India”, Modi said.
The Indian PM condemned the brutal terror attacks by Hamas on October 7, 2023. he said, “terror anywhere threatens peace everywhere.”
“We feel your pain, share your grief. No cause can justify the murder of civilians. Nothing can justofy terrorism”, Modi told the Israeli parliament.
The Prime Minister said, India supports the gaza peace initiative endorsed by UN Security Council which hold the promise of a just and durable peace for all people of the region, including by addressing the Palestine issue.
Prime Minister Modi’s address was heard with rapt attention in Israeli Parliament, but it must be mentioned here that he was stopped from speaking in Lok Sabha this time.
There were loud claps and thumping of desks by members from both sides in Israeli Parliament when Modi spoke, but this does not seem to be the case in our Parliament.
In a rare bipartisan unity in Israeli Parliament, members of both sides showed solidarity when Modi spoke. Yair Lapid, the leader of opposition, in a post in Hindi, called Modi as true friend of Israel.
Modi’s two-day Israel visit is the talk of the town in neighbouring Pakistan. Diplomats and defence experts in Pakistan are worried about the consequences of the next level of strategic partnership between India and Israel. These experts have been saying that the latest technology and transfer of weapons from Israel to India could be dangerous for Pakistan.
Israeli’s laser-guided air defense system Iron Beam is on the neogitation table. This is used to target enemy drones during conflict. There are reports on the possibility of Israel sharing its Iron Dome technology to India.
Pakistani diplomats are wary of a strategic agreement between India and Israel on the lines of the defence pact signed by Pakistan and Saudi Arabia recently. If this pact is sealed, India will get easy access to latest Israeli weapon technology.
In case any fresh conflict takes place between India and Pakistan, the latter might face consequences worse compared to ‘Operation Sindoor’.
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