The Palestinian envoy to India said he was “shocked” by the Asian nation’s recent abstention on a vote in the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) to adopt a report condemning Israel’s actions during last year’s Gaza war.
Palestinian Ambassador to India Adnan Abu Alhaija said in an interview with The Hindu that India’s decision was “affected” by its “burgeoning military relationship with Israel.”
“We were shocked. The Palestinian people and leaders were very happy with the U.N. resolution, but the voting of India has broken our happiness,”Alhaija said.
Last week, India was one of five countries to abstain from the UNHRC vote that adopted a resolution backing a commission of inquiry’s recent report on the war between Israel and the Hamas terrorist group. Israel’s ambassador to India, Daniel Carmon, applauded the move by posting on Twitter, “We appreciate votes by members of @UN_HRC, including #India, who did not support yet another anti Israel bashing resolution. We thank them.”
The decision to abstain from the vote may be part of a shifting stance on Israel within the Indian government under Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Last year, Modi and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met for the first time at the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly in New York. Modi has also announced plans to become the first Indian leader to visit the Jewish state.
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{Matzav.com Israel}
