Bharat has a “constructive” stand on the
Israel-Hamas conflict and stressed on the two-State solution, asserted Union Minister
Hardeep Singh Puri on Tuesday. The minister called Hamas a “terrorist group”
and said Israel has a “right to defend” itself against its advances.
Puri, however, stressed that he was
speaking in his personal capacity and his remarks did not represent the views
of the Indian Government.
Asked if Bharat should take a stern
stand and whether its stance on the Ukraine-Russia and Israel-Hamas conflicts
has been neutral, Puri insisted, “Bharat is not neutral on Hamas’ attack on
Israel and has strongly condemned this act of terrorism.”
“Hamas is a terrorist group and they
have attacked democracy… We support Israel’s action against Hamas in this regard.
But we don’t support its action against Palestine where 2 million people live.
One has to distinguish between the two,” Puri said.
“Our stand on this has been
constructive. We are against terrorism because it has caused havoc in our
country as well… We suggest a two-State solution to the problem wherein both
Palestine and Israel should have the right to constitute their (respective) State,”
he said.
Talking about the conflict between
Russia and Ukraine, the minister said the war had a major impact on the energy
sector but India’s purchase of crude oil from Russia has increased over time.
“One of the major impacts of the Russia
and Ukraine war was on the energy sector because Russia is a major producer of
energy… Due to the sanctions imposed on Russia by the West … We felt that
the thing operated against the interest of countries like India but we didn’t
get overwhelmed by that,” he said.
The Minister of Petroleum and Natural
Gas and Housing and Urban Affairs was answering questions by students at a
special parliamentary House on the topic ‘Current war in Europe and the Middle
East and their global impact particularly in India’ at the Hindu College.
More than 13,300 Palestinians have been
killed since the war began, roughly two-thirds of them women and minors,
according to the Health Ministry in Hamas-ruled Gaza.
Israel has lost more than 1,200 of its
people, mostly civilians killed in the October 7 attack which triggered the
current war. At least 77 soldiers have been killed in Israel’s ground
offensive, according to media reports.
A truce between Israel and Hamas entered
its fifth day on Tuesday.
PTI
