Israel-Hamas war: Ear to the ground, India backs UN Gaza ceasefire resolution

Indian Permanent Representative at the UN Ruchira Kamboj said it is a challenge in these “extraordinarily difficult times” to strike the “right balance,” after supporting the resolution.

The193-member UN General Assembly overwhelmingly adopted the resolution at an emergency special session on Tuesday.

The resolution was supported by 153 nations, 10 were against while 23 members abstained.

All Asian countries voted in favour of the resolution.

Egypt introduced the resolution for “an immediate humanitarian cease fire. It demanded that all parties comply with their obligations under international law, including international humanitarian law, notably, the protection of civilians.

The resolution also asked for the “immediate and unconditional release of all hostages, as well as ensuring humanitarian access”.

But it did not name Hamas.

India had abstained earlier

India had abstained from a similar resolution in October that called for an immediate humanitarian truce leading to a cessation of hostilities and unhindered humanitarian access into the Gaza Strip.

The Indian stand had surprised its friends in the developing world as countries of the Global South overwhelmingly supported the resolution.
India was also among the countries to unequivocally condemn the Hamas attack on Israel.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had expressed solidarity with Israel during a telephone conversation with Netanyahu soon after the attack.

He also described the attack as a terrorist act, leading to calls from Israel and sections in India that it should declare Hamas a terrorist organisation.

So far, India has not done so.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was disappointed that Hamas was not named in the resolution.

Responding to India’s abstention in the UN vote, ANI news agency quoted Netanyahu as saying, “I think that resolution was deeply flawed and I am sorry to say that even many of our friends did not insist ... that there could be a powerful condemnation of the horrors that were committed here … horrors that no civilised country would tolerate.”

Netanyahu, who is already under rising criticism for not being able to get all the hostages released, cannot be too happy with India’s stand supporting the call for an immediate ceasefire.

He has declared that there will be no cessation of military operations until all hostages are released.

The Arab governments have said nothing officially on India’s stand on Hamas.

However, Arab commentators noticed a pronounced “pro-Israeli “position and a major departure in India's traditional position on Palestine.

Observers in the Arab world were disappointed that the Prime minister Modi condemned Hamas for the terrorist attack on Israel but failed to mention a single word on the plight of the Palestinians at the hands of Israel.

Abdul Khaled Abdulla, a political science professor, had posted on X, “Today, India has become completely identified with Israel, and has even begun to align itself with it to the point of declaring support for its aggression against Gaza.”

However, five days later the Ministry of External Affairs issued a statement in which it struck a balance between the two sides.

It also came after Modi spoke to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas in the wake of the bombing of a Gaza hospital by Israel.

The MEA statement expressed support for a two-state solution in which an independent Palestine state and Israel could peacefully coexist along with each other.

India’s latest stand is widely seen as a course correction and may have stemmed from the further deterioration in the situation in Gaza.

The Israeli military action and Netanyahu’s refusal to stop armed operations has led to the death of thousands of civilians and largescale destruction in Gaza.

This also led US President Joe Biden, Israel’s biggest backer, to acknowledge that Netanyahu was losing global support in the face of rising civilian deaths.

But the mood in the Global South could have played an important part to force India to rethink its position on the conflict.

After its successful hosting of the G20, where it championed the interest of the poor and developing world on the global stage, India has been acknowledged as a key leader of the Global South.

But its earlier refusal to demand an immediate ceasefire surprised many countries in the Global South.

However, India’s support for the latest resolution demanding an immediate ceasefire should assuage those sections and clear the air about its stand on the Gaza war.