Prime Minister Narendra Modi has completely transformed relations between Israel and India since coming to power in 2014. In the case of Israel, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has proven to be a breaker of long-standing traditions of Indian foreign policy. On the one hand, India’s closeness with Israel has increased, while on the other, India’s relations with the Gulf countries have also warmed. India has its own security concerns, and Israel has emerged as an important partner.
When Prime Minister Modi visited Israel in 2017, there were fears that this could alienate millions of Muslims in India, but the ruling BJP-led NDA has completely freed itself from domestic political influences. While India maintained a balance in relations with Palestine, it also expanded its relations with Israel.
The two countries’ shared concerns about terrorism have fostered intelligence cooperation between the two countries. India’s demand for high-tech weapons and Israel’s generosity in selling them have led to strong defence trade ties. Addressing the Israeli Parliament, the Knesset, Prime Minister Narendra Modi unequivocally condemned the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, stating that the killing of civilians cannot be justified in any way. He also expressed his strong support for the peace initiative in Gaza. He stated that we are advocates of peace. A just and lasting peace is essential for all people in the region, including a resolution of the Palestinian issue.
In this way, the Prime Minister reiterated India’s position on the Palestinian issue and also attacked terrorism. Prime Minister Narendra Modi was also awarded the Speaker of the Knesset Medal. This medal recognises the Prime Minister’s exceptional contribution to strengthening the strategic relationship between India and Israel through his personal leadership. It is now fully public knowledge that Israel secretly provided military assistance to India during the 1962 wars with China, 1965 wars with Pakistan, and 1971 wars with Pakistan. During the Kargil War, Israel provided India with laser-guided bomb kits and missiles, enabling us to repel Pakistani intruders. This marked the beginning of the two countries’ defence relations.
As a democratic nation, India’s foreign policy remained discriminatory toward Israel until the 1990s, and we openly supported the Palestinian liberation struggle. This was not without fault, as the Palestinian people, under the leadership of the late Yasser Arafat, were also fighting for their legitimate rights and sought independent status. India supported them diplomatically in this struggle. Since the emergence of Palestine, global circumstances have changed, and Israel has undertaken numerous peace efforts with Arab countries under international supervision, the most significant of which is the Camp David Accords.
In a changing world, Israel’s position was bound to change, and in this environment, India’s national interests were also bound to change. Therefore, in the 1990s, during the tenure of the then Prime Minister, the late P.V. Narasimha Rao, we initiated diplomatic relations with Israel. Today, Israel is considered a global strategic industrial powerhouse and an expert in the war against terrorism. This small country has made tremendous progress in the fields of agriculture and science, despite being surrounded on all sides by Arab countries such as Syria, Jordan, Egypt, Lebanon, and Palestine.
Since the 1990s, diplomatic visits from India have been conducted, but there have been no high-level diplomatic visits. For the first time, the Modi government sent Indian President Pranab Mukherjee on a visit to Israel. Recall that in 1977, when the first non-Congress Janata Party government, led by Morarji Desai, was formed at the Centre and Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee was the Foreign Minister, Israel’s then Defence Minister, Moshe Dayan, arrived at Delhi airport and returned home.
Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu’s announcement to establish the Hexagon Group could establish a new dimension in the world order. Hexagon means a hexagon that will include Israel, India, the United States, the Gulf states, and African countries. If the initiative succeeds, it will be a major blow to Pakistan and China. The two countries signed important agreements in defence, AI, cybersecurity, quantum, cultural exchange, rare minerals, agriculture, digital payments, and other areas. Prime Minister Modi stated that the two countries will soon finalise a free trade agreement.
