Palestine for India role in peace process

Palestine on Sunday sought India’s participation in the West Asia peace process, saying its “wisdom” and “political insight” can help defuse crisis in the region as external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj held talks with the top leadership here.

Ms Swaraj, who is on her first visit to West Asia as the external affairs minister, reaffirmed India’s consistent support for the Palestinian cause, emphasising that there has been “absolutely no change in its policy in this regard”.

Ms Swaraj was welcomed by Palestine’s assistant minister of foreign affairs for Asia ambassador Mazen Shamiyeh at the Bituniya checkpoint as she crossed over from Israel to the Palestinian territory after arriving in Tel Aviv Saturday evening.

Soon after her arrival here, Ms Swaraj held talks with her counterpart Riyad al-Maliki. Ms Swaraj also called on President Mahmoud Abbas.

“India’s wisdom and political insight can be very useful in defusing tensions in the region,” Mr Al-Maliki told Ms Swaraj during their meeting here.

The Palestinian foreign minister also called India a “good friend on whom the Palestinians can rely for support in many areas”.

Describing India as “not just a friend but a brother”, Mr Abbas applauded New Delhi’s consistent support for the Palestinian cause.

The two sides held substantive discussions on bilateral and regional issues with the Palestinian side briefing Ms Swaraj on the developments in the peace process.

The Palestinian side also offered to step up cooperation with India in counter-terrorism.

Ms Swaraj and Mr al-Maliki discussed initiating a joint commission at the ministerial level to take forward bilateral cooperation. Mr Al-Maliki also briefed Ms Swaraj on the situation in Syria, Yemen and Iraq, officials said.

Palestinians have expressed surprise at India’s vote at a UN forum last year but said that they “understood” India’s “principled position”.

India, for the first time, last year abstained from voting on a resolution on Palestine adopted at the UN rights body that calls for accountability by parties involved in 2014’s conflict in Gaza.

“No such issue was however raised in the meeting of the foreign ministers,” Dr Wael al-Battrekhi, Palestinian foreign ministry’s head of media department, told PTI.

Ms Swaraj later also inaugurated the India-Palestine Digital learning and Innovation centre here as the two sides discussed multiple other projects New Delhi is planning to help boost capacity building in Palestinian areas.