India on Wednesday belatedly joined 100 other countries and international organisations in condemning Israel for unilateral decisions and measures aimed at expanding its "unlawful presence" in the West Bank.
India was not among the signatories when the Palestinian ambassador to the United Nations briefed mediapersons in New York on Tuesday about the joint statement, announcing that 85 UN member countries and several international organisations had signed up.
In an updated post on the statement posted on Wednesday by the Palestinian mission to the United Nations, India's name and flag featured in the list of signatories. No explanation was given in New York or here on why India, which has historically taken a strong position on Palestine, was slow in signing up.
Since the statement is an iteration of New Delhi’s position on Palestine, India’s delayed signing up is being linked to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Israel next week. Just last month, in the Delhi Declaration, India and the League of Arab States had called for a sovereign, independent and viable state of Palestine based on the 1967 borders, living side by side in peace with Israel.
Professing opposition to any form of annexation, the signatories to the statement said: "We reiterate our rejection of all measures aimed at altering the demographic composition, character and status of the Palestinian Territory occupied since 1967, including East Jerusalem…."
Iterating their support for the right of the Palestinian people to "self-determination" and "counter the illegal settlement policy in the occupied Palestinian territory, including East Jerusalem, and policies and threats of forcible displacement and annexation", the statement calls for ending Israeli occupation and advocates the two-state solution based on the 1967 lines, including concerning Jerusalem as the only path to ensuring security and stability in the region.
India's absence from the original list of signatories was questioned by former foreign secretary Nirupama Menon Rao on X: "Countries can walk and chew gum in diplomacy. In fact, the most effective foreign policies often do exactly that: maintain strategic partnerships while still signalling normative positions. Many European states manage close defence and tech ties with Israel while publicly criticising settlements. That dual messaging isn't hypocrisy. India historically did this rather well. Strong pro-Palestine voting patterns at the UN coexisted with quiet engagement with Israel long before full diplomatic relations. That balancing act helped India retain credibility in the Arab world without shutting doors elsewhere. So the precedent exists.
"Where the discomfort now creeps in is perception. Silence, especially when a large group speaks, can be read as tacit endorsement even if the intent is simply diplomatic caution. International politics runs heavily on interpretation. Sometimes not speaking is louder than speaking. Strategic autonomy was meant to expand India's choices, not shrink its moral vocabulary. If autonomy turns into avoidance of normative positions altogether, it starts looking less like independence and more like hedging. That distinction matters for a country that projects itself as a civilisational voice, not just a transactional actor."
However, her senior in the service and another foreign secretary, Kanwal Sibal, did not read much into the delay. In a post on X after reports of India signing up, he said: "We have done the right thing consistent with our established position. Clearly there was some delay in instructions. Happens. Israeli settlements on the Right Bank and any moves to annex it is seen as a violation of international law by almost all countries. These Israeli moves complicate even the Gaza issue as both Gaza and the West Bank involve the totality of the Palestinian issue. Accordingly, the hyped up Trump’s Board of Peace should address the West Bank issue also to have credibility of objective."
Congress communications in-charge Jairam Ramesh wrote on X: "If he is really serious — which of course he is not — he should call out his good friend Mr Netanyahu, and publicly express India’s grave concern at what Israel is executing in the occupied West Bank."