Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
Israel can learn from India and use soft power to win narrative battles in times of conflict. As Israel stepped up military operations to eliminate Hamas, Palestinians in Gaza unleashed a wave of support. As the only Jewish state in the region, Israel lags far behind in geopolitical structures. This is what Reuven Azar, the Israeli ambassador to India, said.
We are the only Jewish state, he said in an interview with a newspaper. You (India) have very strong media houses with billions of dollars invested like Al Jazeera, TRT and many others. Clearly, we are not investing enough because most of our investments are in hard power, not soft power. India’s approach to challenging these groups is a mix of hard and soft power.
What does the foreign minister say about friendship with Israel?
In fact, recently, Indian Foreign Minister Jaishankar stated that whenever India faces a security threat, Israel will support it and has always been an important defense partner of India. Addressing the Indian House during Question Hour, Jaishankar set out India’s stance on the ongoing conflict in West Asia and highlighted the good record of security cooperation between New Delhi and Tel Aviv.
India’s foreign minister reiterated India’s stance on the war and expressed support for a two-state solution to the Palestinian issue. India has a long-standing policy towards Palestine and we have always supported a negotiated two-state solution. He also mentioned India’s contribution in providing humanitarian assistance to the war-torn people of Gaza.
India wants ceasefire – Jaishankar
Talking about India’s decision to abstain from voting on the Gaza resolution at the United Nations, the external affairs minister said that a country like India itself is a victim of terrorism and if we accept the fact that terrorism is underestimated and if we do so and ignore this, Then it is not in our interest to do so. We will consider any proposal, carefully consider the wording and take a mature approach. Regarding the issue of Israeli citizens being taken hostage, the Foreign Minister said that we condemn terrorism and hostage-taking. We believe that states have the right to respond to these situations, but states must also be concerned about civilian casualties. We must abide by humanitarian law and hope for a ceasefire and an early end to the violence.
