Prime Minister Narendra Modi has affirmed India’s traditional support for the “two-state” solution between Israel and Palestine and that India will support all efforts for a resolution, including on the contentious issue of Jerusalem, which Israel has claimed in its entirety since 1967.
In the clearest position of India’s stand on the Jerusalem question, the Prime Minister said the Indian Embassy in Tel Aviv would remain there at least until a “final status” agreement is reached between the two parties.
“We believe in a two-state solution in which both Israel and a future Palestinian state coexist peacefully,” Mr. Modi said in an interview to Israeli newspaper Israel Hayom .
“India supports all efforts to find an acceptable solution to all the pending issues, including Jerusalem. I assume the question refers to our embassy in Tel Aviv. We will take a decision on that after both sides have come to an agreement on Jerusalem,” he said.
In an interview to The Hindu on Monday, Palestine’s Presidential diplomatic adviser repeated the demand for East Jerusalem as the capital of the Palestinian state, suggesting that Mr. Modi should discuss the need for the resumption of the West Asian peace process with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during his visit, including need for a two-state solution on the lines of 1967 and giving East Jerusalem to Palestine as its capital.
Responding to a question from journalists on Monday, Israeli officials, hoever, said that Israel, like India, would prefer to have “political process with its neighbour” to be “bilateral”.
“I think India in particular would understand this,” said Daniel Carmon, Israel’s Ambassador to India, indicating that Israel does not welcome “third-party” interventions in the matter.
No country at present maintains an embassy in Jerusalem as a result of the dispute, and even the Trump administration that had promised to move the U.S. embassy there recently put off the decision.
Modi's itinerary in Israel
Tuesday: Mr. Modi will arrive at 4 p.m. (local time) at the Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv and later have dinner with his Israeli counterpart, Benjamin Netanyahu.
Wednesday: Mr. Modi will hold talks with Mr. Netanyahu and President Reuven Rivlin before meeting members of the Indian community.
Thursday: The Prime Minister will have business lunch with CEOs from both countries.
He will also visit the Yad Vashem Memorial Museum to honour the memory of the victims of the Holocaust, and pay respect to the Indian soldiers who laid down their lives during the liberation of Haifa in 1918.
Previous bilaterals
Mr. Modi is the first Indian Prime Minister to visit Israel. In October 2015, Pranab Mukherjee became the first Indian President to visit Israel since the establishment of diplomatic ties between the two countries in 1992.
This was followed by the visit of Israeli President Reuvin Rivlin to India in November 2016. Earlier, Israeli President Exer Weizman visited India in January 1997 and this was followed by a visit by Prime Minister Ariel Sharon in September 2003.
