Israel President Says India Has Lot To Contribute To Mediate Conflict

Israel President Isaac Herzog has said India advocates peace and can definitely pursue the voice of reason and security for Israel and peace for the region.

In an exclusive interview with news agency ANI, Isaac Herzog described India as "a very important nation in the world" and "one of the greatest countries on earth".

"India is a very important nation in the world and it was my true honour to speak at the joint session of US Congress in Washington in July, just a few weeks after PM Modi spoke. We believe India advocates peace and is a very impressive country, one of the greatest on earth and India can definitely pursue the voice of reason and security for Israel and peace for the region," the Israel President said.

He was asked about India's position on the sequence of events following Hamas' attack on Israel on October 7. The war between Israel and Hamas has entered the 41st day.

Asked if India can play a role to mediate or moderate the conflict, the Israel President talked about the need to rebuild Gaza as a peaceful place and noted that there can be talk about true dialogue between Israelis and Palestinians and India has a lot to contribute to these ideas.

"I don't know, I'm not sure but I say that the day after, part of the issue will be how do we rebuild Gaza again and how we make sure that Gaza is a safe haven and a peaceful place and then we can speak about doing business with the Mediterranean and having Israelis and Palestinians have a true dialogue. India has a lot to contribute to all these ideas," he told ANI.

Answering queries, the Israel President said India and his country have been cooperating on combatting terrorism and recalled how the Jewish community was attacked in the Mumbai terror attack.

"I think for a long time we've been sharing know-how on combating terrorism. We remember the Mumbai horrific attacks and how the Jewish community was attacked in Mumbai as well as many from the non-Jewish community. And we always express sorrow. And when we remember that, there are a lot of issues to share. We share in science and technology. We share in doing good to the world in medicine," he said.

Mr Herzog expressed his message of affection and friendship to the people and leadership of India.

"We have a great message as two great ancient nations on how to contribute to the world and there's a lot of mutual admiration... I want to express a clear message of affection and friendship to the people of India, wherever they are and the leadership of India," he said.

The UN Security Council on Wednesday adopted a resolution calling for "urgent and extended humanitarian pauses" in Hamas-ruled Gaza during the action of Israel forces.

Israel rejected the resolution which did not mention the October 7 attacks in which Hamas killed around 1,400 people and took over 230 hostages.

The resolution adopted by UNSC called for "urgent and extended humanitarian pauses and corridors" in Gaza for "a sufficient number of days" to allow full, rapid, safe and unhindered access for UN agencies and partners.

It called "for the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages held by Hamas and other groups, especially children, as well as ensuring immediate humanitarian access" by the terms of the resolution.

The Council, by additional provisions in the text, called on all parties to refrain from depriving the civilian population in Gaza of basic services and aid indispensable to their survival, consistent with international humanitarian law.

Twelve members voted in favour of the resolution, none against and there were three abstentions.

Israeli Ambassador to India Naor Gilon had last month urged New Delhi to designate Hamas as a terror organisation in India as well.
He stated that both India and Israel have a "shared war" against terror and counter-terrorism is one of the areas where the countries align.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi was one of the first global leaders to condemn the terror attack on Israel.

India has said it sees the attack by Hamas on Israel as "a terrorist attack" and that it has always advocated the resumption of direct negotiations towards establishing a sovereign, independent and viable state of Palestine that lives side by side at peace with Israel.

India has also said there is a universal obligation to observe international humanitarian law and the need to fight terrorism.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)