NEW DELHI: After giving billions of dollars annually through arms sale fromIndia to Israel which is subsequently used by Israeli defence forces tokill Palestinians, now Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visitPalestine during a brief tour of the Middle East, the foreign ministry saidMonday, just weeks after hosting Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu.
Modi will meet Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas in an overture seen asIndia´s effort to balance its decades-old support for the occupiedterritories against its growing closeness to Israel.
Analysts have started to see this as a double game from India.
The Indian premier will visit Ramallah first on his three-day tour of theregion between February 9 and 12, which will also take in Oman and theUnited Arab Emirates.
Foreign ministry official B. Bala Bhaskar said Modi´s visit to Palestinewould be his first, though the Indian premier has met Abbas on threeprevious occasions.
The leaders are expected to discuss information technology, health andtourism during the brief visit, Bhaskar added. Modi will also address ajoint press conference and attended a banquet.
New Delhi has long backed Palestine´s quest for nationhood and Modi hasarticulated support for an independent state existing peacefully alongsideIsrael.
Bhaskar said India´s refusal in December to support US moves to recogniseJerusalem as Israel´s capital was consistent with its unwavering supportfor Palestine.
Ahead of the first visit by an Israeli leader to India in 15 years,Netanyahu said he was “disappointed” by India´s decision.
But any tension appeared forgotten as the two leaders embraced in New Delhilast month and heralded a “new era” between Israel and India as deals weresigned on cybersecurity and energy.
Modi became the first Indian leader in history to visit Israel in July 2017.
The Indian premier will depart for the UAE on Saturday, where he willaddress a summit in Dubai and meet business leaders before travelling toOman for further engagements.
The Gulf is a critical region for New Delhi. India sources more than halfits oil and energy supplies from the region, and around 9 million Indianslive and work there, sending home billions of dollars in remittancesannually.