Dept.

of
Pol.
Sci.

Israel – Palestine Conflict

India’s stance through the years
 Table of contents

01 02
History shared by India’s relation over
Israel & Palestine the years

03
Present scenario of
the conflict
 01
History of Israel &
Palestine
Religious, Social and Colonial Background
History
• The land of Jerusalem has been considered
holy by the three major religions of
Abrahamic tradition.
• Over the century, phases of relative
religious harmony and wars have been
occurring to gain control of the holy land.
• Middle Ages – Byzantine Empire &
Islamic Caliphates saw religious harmony.
• Crusades – 11th – 13th Century saw
religious wars.
History
• Ottoman Empire – 16th Century onwards
controlled the land until the end of World
War I.
• This phase saw relative religious harmony
amongst the masses.
• End of Ottoman Empire – League of
Nations granted British mandate over
Palestine.
• 1917 – Balfour Declaration: British Govt.
called establishment of a “national home
for the Jewish people” (Jews made up less
than 15% population at the time).
History
• Zionists advertised and agitated for
immigration to Palestine at the backdrop of
Nazi persecution.
• This was aided by the British occupation of
Palestine. Zionist terrorists sowed seeds of
chaos and forcing an eventual exit for the
British from Palestine.
• UN Partition Plan (1947) – Jewish & Arab
state.
• 1948 – State of Israel is established.
 Timeline Post 1948
6 day War: Israel Jordan gives up Gaza-Jericho
takes control of Sinai Camp David Accords: claims to West Bank Agreement: Israeli
Peninsula & Golan Israel & Egypt sign & East Jerusalem. withdrawal.
Heights. peace treaty. PLO accepts
1979: Israel withdraws
Additional powers to
UNSC Resolution 242 Resolution 242 &
from Sinai Peninsula. PLO.
– Israeli withdrawal. Israel’s right to exist.
1967 1978 1988 1994

1948 1973 1987 1993 1994

Israel declares October War: Syria 1st Intifada Oslo Accords: PLO Israel & Jordan sign
independence. & Egypt attempt Sheikh Ahmed administers Gaza peace treaty.
1st Arab-Israel War. recapture. Yassin establishes and West Bank.
Palestinian refugee UNSC Resolution Hamas. Peace agreement
crisis. 338 for by 1999.
implementation of
Resolution 242.
 Timeline Post 1948
Camp David Accord: Road Map for PLO & Hamas from
91% of West Bank Peace: Quartet (US, unity government
and parts of UK, EU & Russia) Israel unilaterally but tensions
Jerusalem to endorse a plan for withdraws settlers & continue.
Palestine. peace. military.
NO success.
2000 2003 2005 2014

1995 2000 2004 2006 2017

Oslo Accords II: 2nd Intifada: Violent Yasser Arafat dies. Hamas defeats US formally
PLO gets control of protests at visit of Fatah & expands recognises
additional areas of Ariel Sharon. power in Gaza. Jerusalem as capital
West Bank. Seen as effort to of Israel.
change status quo.
 Timeline Post 1948
Trump Eviction of Palestine
administration in East Jerusalem &
launches Peace clashes at Al-Aqsa Hamas launches
Plan. Mosque spark surprise attack on
conflict. Israel.
2020 2021 2023

2019 2020 2022

US recognises Israeli relations with Israel launches
Israeli sovereignty Arab states counterterrorism
over Golan Heights normalise (Bahrain operation in West
& UAE) Bank.
 Israel &
02 Palestine:
Relations with
India over the
years
 “Palestine belongs to the Arabs in the
same sense that England belongs to the
English or France belongs to the
French”
— M. K. Gandhi (Harijan: Vol. 6 No. 42
1938)
 India – Israel
Relations
From the background into the Light

• 1950 - India recognised Israel, but did not establish

diplomatic relations.
• 1956 - Israeli foreign minister Moshe Sharett visits
India in the middle of the Suez crisis. India was one of
the mediators along with the US, the UK and
Yugoslavia.
• 1962 - Israel supplied India with arms and
ammunition against China in the war. This marked the
foundational stone of defence ties.
• 1977 – Moshe Dayan, the then foreign minister of
Israel visits India under the Prime Ministership of
Morarji Desai.
 India – Israel
Relations
From the background into the Light
• 1992 - Indian embassy was opened in Tel Aviv
marking initiation of diplomatic ties.
• 1998 - Israel did not criticize the nuclear test
conducted by India despite sanctions imposed in India
by US.
• 1999 Kargil War - Israel supplied Indian Air Force
with surveillance technology and upgraded MiG-21
jets.
• 2017- Prime Minister Modi became the first Indian
PM to make an official visit to Israel.
• Bilateral trade has risen from $200 million in 1992 to
$7.89 billion worth of exports in 2022-23 and $2.13
billion worth of imports.
India & Palestine
A Friendship through the years
• At the Faizpur session of the Congress,
1936, Jawaharlal Nehru drew parallels
between the Arab struggle against British
Imperialism in Palestine to India's own
struggle for freedom.
• 1947 - India voted against the UN resolution •
that laid the foundation of Israel (only 3 non-
Muslim countries voted against).
• During the Six-day war (1967) and Fourth
Arab-Israel war, India condemned Israel as
aggressor.
• 1974 - India recognised PLO as
representative of the Palestinian people and
their struggle.
1975 - PLO office opened in Delhi with
diplomatic status.
• Morarji Desai led Janata government
reaffirmed India’s support to the Arabs in
general and Palestinians in particular.
India & Palestine
A Friendship through the years
• 1983 - The seventh Non-Aligned Movement
(NAM) summit issued ‘the New Delhi
message’: support for the Palestine cause and
condemned Israel.
• Post the First Intifada, PLO accepted 1947 UN
plan and proclaimed the “state of Palestine."
India recognised this immediately.
• 2003 - Opposed Israeli construction of border
wall.
• 2011 - Supported Palestine's bid for inclusion in
UNESCO.
• 2015 - Supported addition of Palestine's flag to
UN premises.
• 2018 - PM Modi became the first PM to make
an official visit to Palestine.
• 2021 - India reiterated it's support to Palestinian
cause in UN speech (TS Tirumurti) and
promoted the two-state solution. But it did not
promote East Jerusalem as the
capital of Palestine.
 A picture is
worth a
thousand words
 Present
Crisis in
Numbers
A bloody war of unaccountable
collateral damages
03
DEATH TOLL IN GAZA

> 8,796
(As of October, 31st 10:15 GMT)
3,648 2,290
Children Women

22,219
Injured
DEATH TOLL IN WEST BANK

> 128
(As of October, 31st 10:15 GMT)
 DEATH TOLL IN ISRAEL

> 1,405 > 5,431

Killed Injured
“The two-state solution alone can
bring peace. A one-state solution is a
no-state solution.”
— T. S. Tirumurti (First Indian Rep. to Palestinian
Authority 1996-98)