New Delhi: Palestinian Foreign Minister Dr Varsen Aghabekian has called on India to play a role in resolving the Palestinian problem.
The minister made these remarks at a press conference in New Delhi, where she is visiting for the first time to attend the India–Arab League Foreign Ministers’ Conference.
She is the first Palestinian minister to visit India since Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’s visit in 2017. Dr Aghabekian is in India for three days, and during her stay in Delhi, she will meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi and External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar.
India has been a traditional supporter of Palestine, and the relationship between the two peoples goes back to pre-independence days. In 1940, Mahatma Gandhi opposed the division of Palestine and the creation of a Jewish nation-state, calling it inhumane. For decades after independence, India remained a strong backer of the Palestinian cause and was among the first countries to recognise Palestine.
However, with time, this support waned and weakened further with the rise of the right-wing government in Delhi.
The visiting minister recalled India’s historical support for the Palestinian cause.
“In the 1930s, the people of India stood with the plight of the Palestinians. In 1947, the great Mahatma Gandhi voted no to the partition of Palestine. Afterwards, you have stood with us in our struggle against occupation,” Aghabekian said at a press conference organised by the Palestinian Embassy in Delhi.
She said that India, being a friend of both Israel and Palestine, can play an important role in resolving the conflict.
“We truly believe that India can play a major role as a mediator between Israel and Palestine, towards ending the conflict and the occupation in Palestine,” she added.
“The stance of India is very clear to us. India supports international law, and today we have resolutions on the two-state solution, as well as the New York Declaration, which clearly stipulates what needs to be done so that we move from the current deadlock to independence and a sovereign State of Palestine,” she said.
During her hour-long press conference, the Palestinian minister also highlighted New Delhi’s material support for Palestine and India’s role in building schools, hospitals, and other facilities.
Aghabekian described the suffering inflicted on the people of Gaza over the last two years. She said, “Eighty-two percent of Gaza has been destroyed. We have around 72,000 killed and 172,000 injured. These are direct casualties, but if you count the indirect deaths and injuries, the numbers will be much higher.”
She added that around 20,000 people are missing, many of them under the rubble, while some are reportedly in detention under the Israeli government.
She urged the international community to hold Israel accountable for the killings in Gaza and stressed that international law should be applied equally to all states.
“International law is clear about the responsibilities of an occupier, how to deal with the occupied, what needs to be done in times of warfare, and what should happen to a state that commits wrongdoing on such a scale,” she said, calling for greater global attention to the situation.DD