Modi in Israel: From balance to bias

2026-03-02 - 20:24

PRIME Minister Narendra Modi’s two-day visit to Israel on February 25–26, 2026, underscored the deepening strategic partnership between the two countries, but it also drew scrutiny. As the first Indian prime minister to address the Knesset, Modi offered unequivocal solidarity with Israel, condemning the 7 October 2023, Hamas attacks as a “barbaric terrorist act” and affirming that no cause justifies killing civilians. Modi’s remarks on various events during his visit totally reflected one-sided, biased and subjectivity. The emphasis on security and partnership, coupled with broad references to a “just and lasting peace,” reinforced the perception that New Delhi’s current approach Favors strategic alignment over the balanced moral positioning that once defined India’s foreign policy. What stood out was what Modi didn’t mention: the staggering toll on Palestinian civilians in Gaza. According to the Gaza Health Ministry and research in The Lancet, over 72,000 Palestinians have died since October 2023, with some estimates exceeding 75,000 in just 16 months. Entire neighborhoods have been flattened, populations displaced and Israel faces genocide allegations at the ICJ. Yet Modi’s Knesset address focused solely on condemning Hamas, remaining silent on Israel’s far deadlier response. This selective condemnation reflects a deeper pattern in Modi’s foreign policy—a realpolitik approach that sacrifices consistency, human rights advocacy and India’s historical moral stance for strategic advantage. The visit underscores the contradictions of a country that prides itself on democracy and championing the Global South while overlooking one of the 21st century’s most severe humanitarian crises. India’s long-standing position on Palestine was built on anti-colonial solidarity. As far back as 1938, Mahatma Gandhi declared that “Palestine belongs to the Arabs in the same sense that England belongs to the English.” Under Jawaharlal Nehru, non-aligned India voted against the 1947 UN partition plan for Palestine, recognized the PLO as the legitimate representative of the Palestinian people in 1974 and became the first non-Arab country to recognize Palestinian statehood in 1988. Even after formal diplomatic relations with Israel were established in 1992 under P.V. Narasimha Rao, India maintained a careful balance, criticizing Israeli settlements, backing a two-state solution with East Jerusalem as Palestine’s capital and casting UN votes that reflected sympathy for the occupied territories. Under Modi, that careful balance has been deliberately broken. Modi has abandoned the steps of his political forefathers. His 2017 visit to Israel notably without a stop in Ramallah, marked the first by an Indian prime minister and signalled a new era of unapologetic engagement. Defence ties have skyrocketed: Israel is now one of India’s top arms suppliers, delivering drones, missiles and surveillance technology central to New Delhi’s security strategy. Collaboration in agriculture, water management and technology has also grown rapidly. Ideological resonance between Hindutva and Zionism, both ultra ethno-nationalist movements emphasizing civilizational exceptionalism; has further deepened the partnership. More importantly, this deepened partnership seriously poses threat to the global peace, prosperity and humanity. The price of this shift has been India’s credibility on human rights. While Modi’s government often speaks forcefully about democratic principles abroad and minority protections in the region, it has either abstained or remained silent on several UN resolutions criticizing Israel’s conduct in Gaza. New Delhi has also declined to back South Africa’s genocide case against Israel at the ICJ. At home, opposition leaders from the Congress party’s Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and Jairam Ramesh to CPI (M)’s M.A. Baby have described the visit as “moral cowardice” and a betrayal of India’s anti-colonial heritage. Public debate has been even sharper. Many point to what they see as glaring hypocrisy: condemning the 1,200 Israeli deaths of October 7 while ignoring the far larger Palestinian toll. Others argue that embracing Netanyahu, despite ICC arrest warrants against him, amounts to legitimizing a leader accused of war crimes. This inconsistency isn’t a one-off; it reflects a broader pattern. Modi’s foreign policy applies human rights standards selectively—condemning terrorism when perpetrators are adversaries like Hamas or when blaming Pakistan, but remaining cautious or silent when close partners face similar accusations. Even cross-border insurgency from Afghanistan to Pakistan benefits India, which often furthers such scenarios. At the same time, India presents itself as a leading voice of the Global South at platforms like the G20 and BRICS. Yet its tilt toward Israel during the Gaza crisis risks unsettling key Arab partners, who supply much of India’s energy, host millions of Indian workers and provide vital diplomatic ties. Domestically, Modi’s core support base, influenced by Hindutva narratives that see Israel as a fellow “civilizational state” confronting Palestine, largely welcomes the closeness. In this space, solidarity with Palestine, once a rare point of national consensus, is increasingly dismissed as cynical “vote-bank politics. As Modi returns from Jerusalem, the broader signal of the visit is difficult to ignore. Condemning one set of civilian deaths while remaining silent about another is not a subtle diplomatic maneuver; it invites accusations of selective vision. For a country that proudly calls itself the “mother of democracy” and a defender of human rights, such asymmetry carries reputational costs. The embrace at the Knesset may well deepen bilateral ties and strengthen defence and technology partnerships. But it also sharpens questions about the direction of Indian diplomacy, whether it is anchored in the moral vocabulary that once defined it or driven primarily by strategic expediency. In that tension lies the moral of the story that India is quickly falling into the hands of extremist RSS Hindutva ideology both in home and abroad. In such case, India is becoming an existential threat to the peace and stability of the south Asian region. —The writer is Chairman, Tehrik Jawanan Pakistan. (abdullahhamidgul1@gmail.com)