India on Sunday sent humanitarian aid to Palestine in addition to what is routinely routed through the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) in a move that is unlikely to go down well with the Modi government’s Right-wing ecosystem that is more inclined to the Zionist policies of Israel.
Announcing the fresh assistance, external affairs ministry spokesman Arindam Bagchi said an Indian Air Force C-17 flight carrying nearly 6.5 tonnes of medical aid and 32 tonnes of disaster relief material for the people of Palestine had left for El-Arish airport in Egypt. El-Arish is one of the closest airports to the Gaza Strip and is used mostly by Palestinians.
The relief material being sent includes essential life-saving medicines, surgical items, tents, sleeping bags, tarpaulins, sanitary utilities and water purification tablets, among other necessary items.
India’s decision to send additional aid to Palestine came a day after the first convoy of humanitarian aid to the under-seige Gaza Strip was allowed in through the Rafah border with Egypt on Saturday.
On Thursday, when asked if India was planning to extend any humanitarian aid to Palestine in view of the situation in Gaza, Bagchi had pointed out: “We have been supporting Palestine and Palestinian refugees through significant contribution to the UN Relief and Works Agency, UNRWA. A total of $29.53 million has been contributed to the UNRWA between 2002 and 2023.
“The Indian annual contribution was actually increased from $1.25 million to $5 million in 2018. And we have pledged this annual contribution of $5 million for the next two years. If there are any further developments, we will share that with you. We are looking at the situation.”
India’s support for the Palestinian cause has been an integral part of the nation’s foreign policy through successive governments of all political hues and has continued even as New Delhi developed relations with Israel. In 1974, India became the first non-Arab state to recognise the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) as the sole and legitimate representative of the Palestinian people.
In 1988, India became one of the first countries to recognise the Palestinian State. In 1996, India opened its Representative Office in Gaza, which was later shifted to Ramallah on the West Bank in 2003.
