Palestinian diplomat meets Wayanad MP Priyanka Gandhi, wants India to play notable role in Gaza reconstruction

Abed Elrazeg Aby Jazer suggested that New Delhi should join the international community in supporting the vital projects needed by the Palestinians in Gaza, given the status of India and the historical relations between the two people.

New Delhi: India should play a prominent role not only in bringing in a ceasefire but also in the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip ravaged by Israel’s military offensive against Hamas, the head of the Embassy of Palestine in New Delhi, Abed Elrazeg Aby Jazer, said during a meeting with Priyanka Gandhi of the Congress.

Abu Jazer, who met Priyanka Gandhi and congratulated her for being elected to the Lok Sabha, urged India to play a prominent developmental and political role in the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip. He suggested that New Delhi should join the international community in supporting the vital projects needed by the Palestinians in Gaza, given the status of India and the historical relations between the two peoples.

He also underlined the importance of India’s role in the West Asia region, especially in bringing in a ceasefire in Gaza, where the offensive by the Israeli Defence Force against Hamas since October 2023 resulted in widespread devastation in addition to death and displacement of thousands of Palestinians.

Priyanka, who was recently elected to the Lok Sabha from Wayanad in Kerala, affirmed her support for the Palestinian people’s struggle to achieve their aspirations of freedom and independence.

She also recalled the friendly and historical relations between the Palestinian and Indian people and condemned the continuation of Israel’s war upon Gaza amid the silence of the international community, according to a press release issued by the Embassy of Palestine in New Delhi. “She regretted and grieved the scenes of destruction and devastation in Gaza including the targeted attacks on civilians and the fall of children and women. She offered her condolences to every mother who has lost her child,” it said.

She recalled meeting Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat multiple times as a child during his visits to India to meet former prime ministers Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi, her grandmother and father respectively.

India had strongly condemned the October 7, 2023, terrorist attacks by Hamas in Israel. It had also demanded the immediate release of the hostages from the captivity of Hamas. But it also later expressed concern over the death of civilians, including women and children, and the devastation caused by the Israeli offensive in Gaza. It also joined the clamour for an early ceasefire in Gaza.

“India calls for an immediate ceasefire, an end to all acts of terrorism, the release of hostages, and the sustained delivery of humanitarian assistance to the people of Palestine,” Prime Minister Narendra Modi recently wrote in a message sent out on November 29 on the occasion of the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People.

New Delhi has been calling for a negotiated two-state solution to the Israel-Palestine issue leading to the establishment of a sovereign, independent, and viable State of Palestine living within secure and recognized borders, side-by-side in peace with Israel with East Jerusalem as its capital. After the BJP’s ascent to power in 2014, with India-Israel ties expanding, New Delhi, however, stopped supporting the demand for East Jerusalem to be the capital of the future state of Palestine.