Modi govt urged not to dilute India's stand on Palestine

Political parties on Monday urged the NDA government not to dilute India's stand on Palestine even as Prime Minister Narendra Modi is embarking on a visit to Israel.

Congress said it will judge Modi's stand-alone visit to Israel without going to Palestine by its "concrete deliverables" but said that India's stand on Palestine issue should not be diluted.

"We will judge by concrete deliverables. We hope those will be converted into reality," Congress spokesperson Abhishek Singhvi told reporters.

This is the first time an Indian leader is visiting Israel and not clubbing his tour with Palestine. Modi also becomes the first Prime Minister to visit Israel. In October 2015, President Pranab Mukherjee has visited Israel and Palestine.

Left parties are also against Modi's move not to visit Palestine, saying it is part of the agenda to further Israel's agenda.

The CPI(M) has said that India has built close security and military ties with Israel and warned that it damages India's relations with other countries in the region.

AIMIM president Asaduddin Owaisi also criticised the government on the eve Modi's visit to Israel, saying it would "strengthen the occupation of West Bank and Gaza".

"The Prime Minister, during his three-day visit, is not visiting the occupied territories, which Indian leaders have done. Whenever any Indian authorities went to Israel, they have maintained ties with Israel and also reaffirmed our support to the Palestinian cause," Owaisi said in Hyderabad.

"That's why I say this (Modi not visiting Palestine) will strengthen the occupation of the occupied territories of West Bank and Gaza," he said adding the Palestine cause is "no dearer to this government".