What Happened
- Ahead of PM Modi's Israel visit (February 25-26, 2026), the Congress party accused the Modi government of "abandoning Palestinians" and accused him of moral inconsistency given India's historic solidarity with the Palestinian cause.
- India officially maintained support for the two-state solution and voted alongside over 142 nations at the UNGA in September 2025 for a resolution on peaceful settlement of the Palestine issue.
- However, India abstained on multiple UN ceasefire resolutions regarding Israel's military campaign in Gaza (2023-2025), which critics call a de facto shift away from historical Palestinian solidarity.
- India had, just days before Modi's Israel visit, joined over 100 countries in condemning Israeli settlement expansion in the occupied West Bank — reportedly after initial hesitation to add its name to the statement.
- The visit resulted in 27 bilateral outcomes between India and Israel, with no public statement from Modi on the Gaza situation.
Static Topic Bridges
India's Historical Solidarity with Palestine
India's support for the Palestinian cause is rooted in Jawaharlal Nehru's anti-colonial foreign policy and India's commitment to the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM). India was the first non-Arab country to recognise the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) as the "sole and legitimate representative of the Palestinian people" in 1974. When the PLO declared Palestinian statehood on November 15, 1988, India was among the very first countries to recognise the State of Palestine — and was the first non-Arab country to do so. India gave the PLO full embassy status in New Delhi and accorded head-of-state protocol to PLO Chairman Yasser Arafat. At the United Nations, India consistently voted against Israel across multiple General Assembly resolutions from the 1950s through the 1980s.
- India's PLO recognition: 1974 — first non-Arab country to recognise PLO as sole legitimate representative.
- India's Palestine statehood recognition: November 18, 1988 — among the very first countries; granted PLO full embassy status.
- Yasser Arafat: received head-of-state protocol during visits to India under this recognition.
- UNGA Resolution 43/177 (1988): acknowledged Palestinian statehood declaration; 104 countries in favour; India voted yes.
- Motivations for historical support: anti-colonial solidarity, NAM commitments, Arab oil supply security, desire to prevent Arab states from aligning with Pakistan on Kashmir at the UN.
Connection to this news: Congress's accusation that Modi "abandoned Palestinians" is grounded in this 70-year history of consistent Indian solidarity — a history the Modi government has not formally repudiated but has substantially qualified through abstentions and warming Israel ties.
India's Voting Shift at the United Nations (2014 Onwards)
Under the Modi government (from 2014), India's UN voting pattern on Israel-Palestine issues shifted noticeably. India began abstaining on key resolutions rather than voting against Israel. Notable votes include: India's 2014 abstention on a UNHRC resolution on the Gaza conflict; continued abstentions on ceasefire resolutions during the 2023-2025 Gaza military campaign. However, India voted in favour of the September 2025 UNGA resolution backing a two-state solution and peaceful settlement. India also abstained on a 2016 vote seeking to bring Israel before the International Criminal Court (ICC) for alleged war crimes in Gaza in 2014. This pattern — voting for non-binding declarations of principle but abstaining on enforcement or accountability mechanisms — characterises India's evolving approach.
- India's voting on Gaza ceasefire resolutions (2023-2025): abstained, not voted in favour, on most ceasefire calls.
- September 2025 UNGA resolution on two-state solution: India voted YES (among 142 nations in favour).
- ICC accountability votes: India has abstained on resolutions seeking referral of the Israel-Palestine situation to the ICC.
- India formally maintains: "support for a two-state solution" — an independent, sovereign Palestinian state alongside a secure Israel.
- India joined (after hesitation) a 100-nation statement condemning Israeli settlement expansion in the West Bank, shortly before Modi's February 2026 Israel visit.
Connection to this news: India's carefully calibrated UN voting — supporting the political framework (two-state solution) while avoiding enforcement or accountability measures — reflects its "de-hyphenated" policy that preserves warm relations with Israel without formally abandoning the Palestinian cause.
India's De-Hyphenated West Asia Policy
India's Ministry of External Affairs officially characterises India's West Asia policy as "de-hyphenated" — meaning India's relations with Israel, Arab states, Iran, and the Palestinian Authority are managed as separate bilateral relationships, not conditioned on each other. India imports roughly 50-60% of its oil from Gulf Arab states (Saudi Arabia, Iraq, UAE, Kuwait), has a diaspora of approximately 9 million people in the Gulf generating significant remittance flows, maintains a strategic oil relationship with Iran, and runs a rapidly growing defence partnership with Israel. These interests pull in different directions, but India's position is that it can serve all of them simultaneously by refusing to allow one relationship to determine the terms of another.
- Indian diaspora in Gulf: approximately 9 million; remittances from the region approximately $40 billion annually.
- India's oil from Gulf states: approximately 50-60% of total crude imports.
- India-Israel defence trade: approximately $2-2.5 billion annually; Israel is a top-3 defence supplier.
- "De-hyphenation" policy: explicitly articulated by the Modi government from 2014 onwards; allows simultaneous engagement with Israel (defence, technology) and Arab states (oil, diaspora) without linking the two.
- India's recognition of Palestinian statehood (1988) has never been revoked; the Palestinian Authority maintains an embassy in New Delhi.
Connection to this news: The Congress criticism of Modi's "abandonment" of Palestinians essentially challenges whether de-hyphenation is morally coherent when one side of the equation (Israel) is conducting a military campaign killing tens of thousands of civilians. The government's response — that India separately maintains two-state solution support and joined the West Bank settlement condemnation statement — is the operational expression of de-hyphenation under pressure.
Key Facts & Data
- India recognised PLO: 1974 (first non-Arab country; full embassy status, head-of-state protocol).
- India recognised Palestinian statehood: November 18, 1988 (among the first countries globally).
- Full diplomatic relations with Israel: established January 29, 1992 (under PM P.V. Narasimha Rao).
- PM Modi's first Israel visit: July 2017 (first ever by an Indian PM).
- PM Modi's second Israel visit: February 25-26, 2026.
- India's votes on Gaza ceasefire resolutions (2023-2025): abstained on most.
- UNGA September 2025 two-state solution resolution: India voted YES (with 142 nations).
- India-Israel bilateral trade: approximately $7-8 billion (2024).
- India-Israel defence trade: approximately $2-2.5 billion annually.
- Indian diaspora in Gulf: approximately 9 million; remittances ~$40 billion/year.
- Gaza death toll by February 2026: over 73,000 Palestinians killed in Israeli military campaign.
- India's official position: "committed to a two-state solution" — sovereign Palestine alongside secure Israel.