On April 4, 2024, India expressed concern over the recent attack on the Iranian consulate in Damascus, the capital of Syria and expressed distress over escalating tensions in West Asia. New Delhi refrained from condemning Israel for the attack, which Iran has already blamed on the West Asian Jewish nation.
India, however, has sent a message to Israel by stressing that all parties must avoid flouting commonly accepted norms of international law. It took note of escalating tensions in West Asia and asked PM Benjamin Netanyahu government to ensure the safety of the construction workers being recruited from India to work in Israel.
“We have noted with concern the attack on the Iranian diplomatic premises in Syria on April 1, 2024,” Randhir Jaiswal, the spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) told journalists in New Delhi without commenting on the perpetrator of the strike that killed seven Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) personnel.
“India is distressed at the escalating tensions in West Asia and their potential to fuel further violence and instability, the MEA spokesperson said in response to a query posed by a journalist. New Delhi had condemned the terrorist attacks carried out on October 7, 2023. Hamas terrorists carried out the attack killing 1,400 Israelis and taking over 220 hostages.
Israel then launched a counter-attack (aerial attacks) and ground offensive in the Gaza Strip killing over 32,000 Palestinians, injuring 75,000 more bedsides, demolishing buildings, hospitals, and universities and displacing hundreds of thousands of people.
India had expressed concerns regarding civilian casualties and reminded Israel that it had an obligation to follow international humanitarian law while responding to attacks by Hamas. On April 4, 2024, New Delhi once again sent a message to Israel. “We urge all parties to avoid actions that can go against the commonly accepted principles and norms of international law, the MEA spokesperson said.
Even as the conflict rages on, the 64 construction workers from India left for Israel earlier this week. Israel’s construction industry has been purportedly looking for workers from India to replace their Palestinian counterparts who have been denied work permits as since the conflict began.
“The First batch of people under the G2G (Government to Government) agreement have gone to Israel. For us, their safety of course is important. We have urged the Israeli authorities to do their best to take care of the safety and their wellbeing. It is of prime importance,” Jaiswal said on April 4, 2024.
After a missile fire from Lebanon killed one and injured two others in northern Israel, the New Delhi’s diplomatic mission in Tel Aviv had urged the country’s citizens in the West Asian nation to move to safer areas.
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