NEW DELHI, Feb 20: India on Friday reaffirmed its support for a two-state solution to the Palestine issue and said it had joined more than 100 countries and international organisations in a statement condemning Israel’s attempts to expand unlawful settlements in the West Bank.
India did not figure in the initial statement that was endorsed by around 80 countries and organisations. Palestine’s UN envoy Riyad Mansour released it on Tuesday.A fresh statement saw India and around 20 countries and organisations back it.
Asked why India was not part of the initial statement, External affairs ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said at his weekly media briefing that the document had not been negotiated by the countries and organisations as has been the norm.
“Our position on this particular issue was most recently expressed in the India-Arab League ministerial joint statement,” he said.In their meeting held in New Delhi on January 31, India and the Arab League pitched for a sovereign and viable Palestine state living side-by-side with Israel while calling for “just, comprehensive and lasting peace in the Middle East” in line with relevant UN resolutions and the Arab Peace Initiative.
In a joint statement, the two sides also called for a “sovereign, independent and viable state of Palestine based on 1967 borders, living side by side in peace with Israel. Both parties supported the practice of inalienable rights of the Palestinian people.” Jaiswal said that in consonance with the position outlined in the joint statement, India associated itself with the Palestinian initiative, keeping in mind the “concerns addressed by the statement”.
In the statement, the signatory countries and organisations reiterated their commitment to take concrete measures in line with UN resolutions and the July 2024 advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice, which declared Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territory as illegal and sought the evacuation of all settlements in the West Bank.
To a separate question, Jaiswal said that India had attended a meeting of President Donald Trump’s Board of Peace in Washington on February 19 as an “observer”.“India attended the Board of Peace meeting held in Washington DC as an observer. India has supported the Gaza Peace Plan initiative of President Trump and the efforts underway due to UNSC resolution 2803,” he said. (PTI)
