Envoy seeks greater India role in Palestine

Palestinian ambassador to India Osama Musa today said India should play a greater role in putting an end to Israeli occupation.

Palestinian ambassador to India Osama Musa today said India should play a greater role in putting an end to Israeli occupation. “We want India, and the international community, to see that the Israeli tanks are out of our bedrooms,” he said.

However, when asked about the growing Indo-Israel military partnership, he said: “It is within the sovereign right of the two countries to have such partnerships. We can’t interfere with anyone’s sovereign right. We are confident that India is backing us on the Palestinian cause.”

“The international community must intervene to bring an end to the brutal occupation of Palestine by Israel,” said Musa at a media interaction organised by the Arab League. “India, along with other countries, can put pressure on America to end the brutal and unjust occupation of Palestine,” he added.

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Speaking along the same lines, Ahmed Salem Al-Wahishi, head of the League of Arab States mission, said “We are looking for a greater role for India in West Asia. India’s expressions of solidarity with the Palestinian cause will help support peace process in the region.”

India has expressed concern at “the continuing violence in occupied Palestine”. Last week, External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee strongly condemned the “disproportionate use of retaliatory force” in “occupied Palestine” and appealed to all parties to bring “mindless violence” to an end. He had also termed the situation as “deplorable”.

Referring to India’s presence at a US-sponsored international conference on the West Asia peace process in Annapolis last year, Al-Wahishi said this was a recognition of India’s growing role in the region. “It (India) is a big country in our continent. Such a big country has a role in the peace process,” he said.