ISLAMABAD – Narendra Modi on Saturday became the first Indian primeminister to visit the occupied West Bank where he held talks withPalestinian president Mahmud Abbas as part of a Middle East tour.
The visit, which came weeks after Modi hosted Israeli Prime MinisterBenjamin Netanyahu, was seen as an Indian effort to balance itsstrengthening ties with the Jewish state.
“I have once again assured President Abbas that India is bound by a promiseto take care of the Palestinian people’s interests,” Modi said following ameeting with the Palestinian leader.
“India hopes that soon Palestine will become a free country in a peacefulmanner.”
Modi and his entourage had flown in by helicopter from Jordan, landing nearAbbas’s Ramallah headquarters and laying a wreath at the mausoleum of latePalestinian leader Yasser Arafat.
New Delhi has long backed the Palestinian territories’ quest for nationhoodand Modi has voiced support for an independent state existing peacefullyalongside Israel.
After a bilateral meeting, Abbas gave the Indian leader a medal “inrecognition of his wise leadership” and “efforts to promote the historicrelations between the State of Palestine and the Republic of India.”
Speaking alongside Modi, Abbas said they had discussed “bringing thepolitical process out of the deadlock due to the continued Israelioccupation of our land and the political impasse following (US PresidentDonald) Trump’s decision on Jerusalem and the refugees”.
Trump in December shocked the Palestinians by breaking with decades of USpolicy and recognising Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. The US president isalso withholding tens of millions of dollars from UNRWA, the UN agency forPalestinian refugees.
“We count on India’s role as an international force of great prestige andweight,” Abbas said, noting “its rising power at the strategic and economiclevels” that could “contribute to the achievement of a just peace in ourregion”.
The Indian leader said his country “hopes for peace and stability in thisregion”.
“We believe a permanent solution to Palestine is possible through dialogue.Only diplomacy and farsightedness can break the cycle of violence and freeit from the baggage of the past,” Modi said.
“India and Palestine’s historic relations have stood the test of time.Palestinian interests have always got our support and remained at the topin our foreign policy.”
Modi became the first Indian prime minister ever to visit Israel in Julylast year, with the two states signing deals on cybersecurity and energy.
India’s refusal to back US moves to recognise Jerusalem as Israel’s capitaldisappointed the Jewish state but was consistent with its support for thePalestinians.
Modi was later taking off for Jordan for the rest of his three-day tour,which will also take him to Oman and the United Arab Emirates.
The Gulf is a critical region for New Delhi.
India sources more than half its oil and energy supplies from the region,and around nine million Indians live and work there, sending home billionsof dollars in remittances annually. -AGENCIES