INDO_ISRAEL STRATEGIC RELATIONSHIP AND

ITS IMPACTS ON PAKISTAN

Submitted by
MUHAMMAD HUSNAIN
Roll No. 06
M.PHIL International Relation
Semester 2nd

Submitted To
MADAM SAJIDA

DEPARTMENT OF POLITICAL SCIENCE AND IR

MINHAJ UNIVERSITY
LAHORE
India–Israel relations refers to the bilateral ties between the Republic of India and the State of
Israel. The two countries enjoy an extensive economic, military, and strategic relationship.
India and Israel recently celebrated 25 years of their diplomatic relations, which began in 1992.
India recognized the State of Israel on 17 September 1950. Following India’s recognition of
Israel in 1950, Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru stated, “we would have [recognised
Israel] long ago, because Israel is a fact. We refrained because of our desire not to offend the
sentiments of our friends in the Arab countries.”
Now on the anniversary of India-Israel’s 25 year old diplomatic relations and yet in another
diplomatic masterstroke, India’s Modi has now fully aligned India with Israel. While India has
been enjoying great relations with Israel for a long time, this new realignment is being seen by
analysts as Modi’s confidence in India and what it can bring to the table. Indeed, good relations
with Israel have and will continue to benefit India, something that is hard to digest for Pakistan,
where many actually hate Israel more than India even though Pakistan and Israel have never
gone to war. Modi has also all but trashed Pakistan’s old, burnt out argument that Pakistan
doesn’t make relations with Israel because it doesn’t want to anger the Arabs. One may inquire
how was Modi able to align India with Israel after he got Saudi Arabia’s highest civilian award.
To that, many in Pakistan would say India is an economic giant and can afford to do something
like that, but to me those are just lame excuses to cover up own shortcomings and failures.
Now India has cashed in its Israel card and while Pakistanis will continue to ignorantly dismiss it
as nothing significant, this new alignment comes at a great cost to Pakistan. This will be proven
in the years to come. Modi has also sent a message to US and Russia which goes something like
this: we’re no longer dependent on your defense industry alone and we will go where our
interests take us.
It is important to note that even without formal diplomatic relations, Indo-Israeli military ties
existed during the Cold War. These ties have certainly increased in volume since the 1990s.
A constant theme in the history of Indo-Israeli relations has been that their public visibility has
been conditioned on who is in power in New Delhi. To be precise, every time a Hindu nationalist
government is in power in New Delhi, the visibility of India-Israel ties increases, but not the
substance. On the other hand, India’s more liberal Congress Party has historically downplayed
India’s ties to the Jewish state. In short, the key difference between the secular-liberal Congress
Party and the Hindu nationalist BJP lies in their public-relations management of India-Israel
bilateral relationship. The former publicly downplays strategic ties between India and Israel
while the latter loudly champions them. Beyond these semantics, however, both political parties
maintain largely similar ties with the Jewish state.
 
India-Israel Alliance – Military and Intelligence Cooperation:
The Past:
In 1996, India purchased 32 IAI Searcher UAVs, Electronic Support Measure sensors and an Air
Combat Manoeuvering Instrumentation simulator system from Israel. Since then Israel
Aerospace Industries (IAI) has serviced several large contracts with the Indian Air
Force including the upgrading of the IAF’s Russian-made MiG-21 ground attack aircraft. There
have been further sales of laser-guided bombs. 
In 1997, Israel’s President EzerWeizman visited India as the first Israeli President to do so
and negotiated the first weapons deal with India, involving the purchase of Barak 1 vertically-
launched surface-to-air (SAM) missiles. This purchase of Israeli Barak-1 missiles by India was a
tactical move against Pakistan since Pakistan had earlier purchased Lockheed P-3
Orion maritime surveillance aircraft and 27 Harpoon sea-skimming anti-ship missiles from the
United States.
 3. In 2003, India purchased three Phalcon AWACS, fitted with IAI radar equipment mounted on
Russian IL-76 transport aircraft at cost of $1 billion from Israel.
4. In 2005, India purchased 50 Israeli drones for $220 million.
5. In 2007, Israel Aerospace Industries Ltd signed a US$2.5 billion deal with India to develop an
anti-aircraft system and missiles. This was the biggest defence contract in the history of Israel at
the time. IAI CEO Yitzhak Nissan visited India to finalise the agreement. IAI has also developed
the Barak 8 missile for the Indian Navy and Indian Air Force which is capable of protecting sea
vessels and ground facilities from enemy aircraft and cruise missiles. The missile has a range of
over 70 kms. 
6. On 10th November 2008, a delegation of Indian military officials visitedIsrael to discuss joint
weapons development projects, additional sales of Israeli equipment to the Indian military, and
anti-terrorism strategies. This visit was seen as a significant expansion in the Indian-Israeli
strategic partnership.
7. Following the 2008 Mumbai attacks, Israel offered a team of about 40 SOF and help with the
investigations. Magen David Adom dispatched a team of paramedics, medics and other
professionals to assist with rescue efforts. However, Manmohan government turned down an
offer by Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak to send counter-terrorist units to help fight the
attackers.
8. In December 2009, IDF’s Lt Gen Gabi Ashkenazi made a visit to India to cement the defence
ties and pledged assistance to India in fighting terrorism.
9. In March 2011, a new deal was reached between India and Israel as Modi took office as
India’s new Prime Minister. Under this new deal, India would buy 8356 Israeli Spike anti-tank
missiles, 321 launchers, 15 training simulators and peripheral equipment for $1 billion from
Israel’s Rafael Advanced Defense Systems.
10. In September 2015, New Delhi approved Indian Air Force’s request to purchase 10 Heron TP
drones from Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI).
11. In 2015, a delegation from Israel’s Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs led by former Israeli
ambassador to the United Nations Dore Gold visited India. Apart from shared strategic interests,
Islamist terrorism and the security situation in the Middle East and South Asia, two very
important topics were also discussed in these meetings: Pakistan and Kashmir.
12. In 2016, New Delhi approved the purchase of two more Phalcon AWACS from Israel.
13. Israel and India have maintained strong intelligence sharing. India’s premier intelligence
agency R&AW and Mossad have worked in close coordination in the past, including in Kashmir.
In 1990s, Pakistan feared excessive Israeli involvement in Kashmir and Pakistani intelligence
assets in Kashmir attacked Israelis, who Pakistan believed were IDF soldiers posing as Israeli
tourists. In one such case, an Israeli was kidnapped by Kashmir Liberation Front in 1991. Later
the kidnapped Israeli was released without any harm because Kashmiris feared that Israeli lobby
in US will turn against them and lobby US government against Kashmiri groups.
14. An explosive story in 2003 revealed clandestine links between R&AW and Mossad. This
story involving R&AW and Mossad spies was extensively covered by Indian media, which was
still not as pro-Israel as it is today. For intelligence analysts, this story was a goldmine.
15. In 2015, The Times of India reported that secret agents from Mossad and MI5 protected
Indian PM NarendraModi during his visit to Turkey.
16. India has also been quietly taking advice from Israeli military experts on how to handle the
situation in Kashmir. In 2015, Jerusalem Post reported that Indian government has sparked
anger, not just among Kashmiri Muslims but also Hindus, by trying to adopt an Israel-inspired
settlement policy in India-held Kashmir.
17. Israel has also greatly helped India against Pakistan in 1965, 1971 and Kargil War of 1999.
Israel also helped India in its 1962 war against China. Moreover, Israel was among the first
countries to recognize Bangladesh as an independent country, right after it had helped India
defeat Pakistan. But amusingly enough, despite being among the first countries to recognize
Bangladesh and playing an important role in Pakistan’s defeat, Bangladesh didn’t return the
favor and still doesn’t recognize Israel. That makes Bangladesh one of the 29 UN member states
that don’t recognize Israel.
18. In 2009, India successfully launched RISAT-2, a synthetic aperture radar imaging
satellite. RISAT-2 was manufactured by Israel Aerospace Industries in conjunction with ISRO.
19. In 2005, Israel launched TecSAR, its first synthetic aperture radar imaging satellite, on
India’s Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle, or PSLV. In 2008, TecSAR was successfully inserted into
orbit by India’s PSLV. One of its primary functions is to monitor Iran’s military activities. 
20. India helped Israel in the Six Day War of 1967 war by providing Israel with spare parts for
French-made Mystere and Ouragan aircraft as well as AX-13 tanks.
Israel sees India as a reliable strategic, defense and trade partner in Asia while it sees Pakistan as
a potential enemy and China as merely a trading partner. While China-Israel relations
are excellent, Pakistan has not helped its case over the years and is still seen by most Israeli
strategists as the “Islamic bomb“, a liability.
The Present:
India is Israel’s top destination for arms exports, buying 41% of Israel’s arms export between
2012 and 2016, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute. Israel is
India’s third-largest source of arms, with a 7.2% share of imports between 2012 and 2016, next
to the USA (14%) and Russia (68%).
In September 2016, India conducted successful tests of a new India-Israel
jointly developed Long Range Surface-to-Air Missile with a range of 70 km, intended to equip
three guided-missile destroyers of the Indian Navy.
In 2017, India successfully tested the Israeli-made SPYDER quick-reaction surface-to-air missile
in May. The Indian Air Force plans to deploy this system on India’s western border.
India and Israel also closely cooperate on counter-terrorism. This cooperation is only expected to
grow after Modi’s visit to Israel.
Indian media was up in arms about Israeli PM Netanyahu referring to India-Israel friendship as a
“marriage made in heaven”, which is exactly what Netanyahu said about Israel-China relations
earlier while visiting China. While all serious analysts understand that these are just diplomatic
one-liners, a question arises here: How does China see Israel’s defense deals with India,
considering they not only challenge Pakistan’s position in the region but also China’s. And
needless to say, Beijing is eyeing this alliance with much suspicion but at the same time Beijing
also understands what’s in it for Israel. Israelis are great businessmen and understanding that,
China has started pouring in a lot of money into Israel, hoping to buy as much influenceas it can.
This influence, however, will be mostly used in China’s interests, not Pakistan’s, regardless how
close are China-Pakistan relations.
On Indian PM’s Israel visit, Indian companies have signed twelve strategic agreements with
Israel for air defense systems, radars, anti-ship missiles, medium altitude UAVs under tech
transfer worth $4.3 billion.

Pakistan In The Wrong Camp

Pakistan-Israel don’t recognize each other and don’t have diplomatic relations. That being said,
Pakistan and Israel do enjoy backdoor ties in some areas but they are there out of necessity, not
will or friendship. While Pakistan’s security establishment, understanding Israel’s importance,
has always wanted good ties with Israel, the same attitude isn’t found among much of Pakistani
public. Pakistan’s politicians, while quietly enjoying business ties with Israelis in countries like
US, continue to misguide Pakistani youth about Israel and no one in Pakistan blinks an eye when
someone engages in antisemitism or anti-Israel conspiracy theories. Hearing hatred for Jews
from Pakistani politicians and media persons, not to mention the average citizens, is considered
normal and politicians casually label their opponents “Yahoodi agent” without facing any
consequences. Similarly, in Israel there are a lot of misconceptions about Pakistan and many
Israelis still mistake Pakistan for an Arab country. Israeli strategists still see Pakistan’s nuclear
assets as a liability despite Pakistan’s assurances that it won’t transfer nuclear tech to Iran.
Recently Pakistan’s defense minister tweeted a nuclear threat to Israel after reading fake news.
The threat was dismissed by Israeli government which issued a clarification rejecting the fake
news. This little goof up made international headlines. Due to such level of miscommunication,
or to be more precise lack of communication, both Pakistan and Israel still view each other with
suspicion.
In 2016, Pakistan Air Force and Israeli Air Force conducted a joint drill with UAE Air Force in
United States. Later Israeli Air Force praised the drill and the professionalism of Pakistani pilots.
Indeed, it was Pakistan’s security establishment that made ties with Israel during Afghan Jihad
(some say the ties have existed well before that but this is up for debate) when
Israel supplied Soviet weapons to the Afghan mujahideen via Pakistan. Pakistan’s ruler at that
time, General Zia, established a special desk at the ISI (Pakistan’s premier intelligence agency)
to deal with their counterparts in Mossad. Since that time, Pakistan and Israel have maintained
on and off intelligence ties out of necessity. While both Pakistan and Israel were allied with the
American bloc during Cold War, history seems to be repeating itself as once again Israel and
Pakistan are more or less standing on the same ground: Both countries have somewhat drifted
away from the United States and have balanced their relations with US – with China and Russia.
In 2013, Britain’s Department for Business, Innovation and Skills revealed that Israel had
exported military technology to Pakistan. In 2011, Israel sought to purchase from Britain
equipment that would then be exported to Pakistan. These included electronic warfare systems
and aircraft parts. Both Pak Armyand Israel denied the report, with Pak Army spokesperson
calling it “misleading”, but analysts with intelligence sources know it happened and both
countries have good reasons to cover it up. For Pakistan, the main concern is rebellion by
hardcore anti-Israel elements within Pakistani military as well as massive protests and even
armed clashes with Islamists. For Israel, the main reasons to cover it up were Pakistan’s concerns
as well as the possibility of outrage in Israeli public, which would not have wanted their
government to arm the only Muslim nuclear state. Israel, like all countries, lies to its public when
necessary. Moreover, there are many more rumors of covert ‘arrangements’ between Israel and
Pakistan but the details of those arrangements likely won’t be coming out anytime soon. Unless
there are unauthorized leaks by groups such as WikiLeaks, Anonymous, etc.
Pakistan’s security establishment has been eyeing the latest deals between Israel and India very
‘keenly’, and while Pakistan has its own reasons to feel threatened, there’s also the China factor
at play here. Right now the ties between Pakistan and United States, a close ally of Israel, are at
an all time low due to the war in Afghanistan but Pakistan can strike a balance by reaching out to
Israel via Beijing, which is in the best position right now to bring Pakistan and Israel close.
While some excellent progress was made between Israel and Pakistan relations during the era
of Musharraf, that progress wasn’t enough to remove the distrust that exists between the two
nations. Musharraf’s removal and his failure in politics further alienated those who argued in
favor of Musharraf’s Israel initiative. Today Pakistan is more or less back to square one where it
is worried about India-Israel defense and strategic relations without giving much thought to the
fact that Pakistan has berated Israel at the UN for decades, rejected several Israeli offers to
normalize relations and continues to be a haven of antisemitism in the region. While India
enjoyed close relations with both Palestinians and Israel, Pakistan ignored Israel and stuck with
Arabs who were never able to give good returns on Pakistan’s diplomatic support, not even on
Kashmir issue. So far Arabs have paid mostly lip service to the Kashmir issue while Palestinians
sided with India, not Pakistan, on Kashmir. In short, Pakistan’s relationship with Arabs and
Palestinians have been give, give give and ask for nothing in return. Many Pakistani analysts
today complain that Israel is disturbing the balance in South Asia region but here’s my question:
What was Pakistan thinking when it blindly sided with the Arabs against Israel for decades? That
disturbed the balance too, as Arabs felt more powerful because of Pakistan’s support when in
reality they were not even worth fighting the IDF. Today Arabs are scattered and fleeing their
countries for Europe partially because of their rejection of Israel. The chaos in Syria, Iraq and
much of Middle East is indirectly part of those past mistakes where Arabs consistently rejected
repeated Israeli offers for peace. Today, having learnt that Israel cannot be defeated, Arab
countries like Saudi Arabia, UAE, etc are trying to move close to Israel but it may be too late for
them. Israel will now not deal with Arabs the way it was ready to deal with Arabs three or four
decades ago. Today Israel is a regional power, has nukes pointedat every major city of the world,
has some of the best tech in the world and has become economically more powerful than ever
before. Israel has no reason whatsoever to deal with Arabs on their terms. No, Israel will now
deal with Arabs on Israel’s terms and Arabs, too desperate to save their remaining governments,
will have no other option but to go along with it. While Pakistan has historically sided with
Arabs, it is not a party to the conflict and should protect its own interests first and foremost.
Pakistan has already realized how foolish Arabs can be at times, which is why Pakistan is not
siding with the Arabs blindly anymore. This was proven in the Saudi-Iran rift as well as in GCC-
Qatar rift. While Pakistan’s foreign policy is somewhat maturing, it still needs to be more
realistic and focused on Pakistan’s national interests instead of appeasing the sentiments of some
segment(s) of the public or ‘brotherly Islamic nations’.
While Modi would want to create a US-India-Israel alliance against China-Pakistan-Iran and
push it as an alliance of freedom lovers against Commies and Jihadis, Pakistan should be doing
everything it can to bring down this little scheme of New Delhi.