India has key role to defuse Israel-Hamas crisis: Palestinian envoy

India’s solidarity with the Palestinian cause dates back to Mahatma Gandhi’s time and its rising global stature and influence over all key players in West Asia make it well-placed to play a crucial role in defusing the crisis arising out of the Israel-Hamas conflict, Palestine Ambassador Adnan Abu Alhaija said on Tuesday.

Alhaija particularly noted that India is a “friend” for both Israel and Palestine and it is “qualified” to work towards bringing down the tensions and contribute towards a solution to the Palestine issue. The multi-pronged attacks against Israel by Hamas militants from Gaza since Saturday and the subsequent Israeli retaliation have left over 1,600 people dead in the last four days, triggering mounting global concerns and confabulations among key players.

Alhaija said India can get in touch with the European countries, the US, countries in West Asia and build “pressure” on the Israelis to work towards peace, which, he said, is refusing so far. “India knows what is the Palestinian cause from the beginning; since the time of Mahatma Gandhi. So, they are qualified to play that role, especially as India is a friend of both (Palestine and Israel),” he said. The ambassador noted that India has been supportive of the Palestinian cause. “India is a very important country. I think, (India) can lead in this matter….India can play a good role,” he said. To a question on whether he was pitching for India playing the role of a mediator, he responded:”(I) hope so.”

Asked if he had conveyed this to the people concerned in the Indian government or to the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), Alhaija said he asked for it around two years ago.

Describing the attacks by Hamas militants as totally unprovoked and unacceptable, Israel has already announced that it will deal with the challenge and punish the perpetrators.

Over the years, India has been maintaining that its position on the Palestine question has been clear and consistent and that it is committed to supporting all efforts to resume direct negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians to achieve a two-state solution.

On the attacks against Israel by Hamas, the ambassador said what it has done is a “reaction” to what Israel has been doing to the Palestinian people for a “long, long time”. Asked if he was not condemning the attacks by Hamas that killed innocent civilians, the envoy said: “I condemn the killing of the civilian people — whether they are Palestinians or Israelis.”