While the Indian government has not yet acknowledged it, several Indian and foreign media have confirmed that India is assisting Israel in its genocidal war in Gaza by exporting arms and other military equipment.  

On 12 December 2023, India had voted in favour of a resolution of a UN General Assembly that asked for immediate ceasefire in Gaza. However by 5 April 2024 India changed its position and was among 13 countries which abstained from voting in a resolution adopted by the UN Human Rights Council calling for immediate ceasefire in Gaza and an arms embargo on Israel.

By February this year, India delivered over 20 Hermes 900 Medium-Altitude Long-Endurance (MALE) Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) to Israel. These drones have been manufactured in Hyderabad since 2018 by Adani-Elbit Advanced Systems India Ltd, a joint venture between India's Adani Defence and Aerospace, a company of Gautam Adani, an oligarch close to India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and Israel's Elbit Systems.

According to several Indian and foreign reports, these UAVs are capable of both surveillance and aerial bombardment, and Israel has used these drones for strikes on Palestinian civilians and homes.

Besides this, India, through its public and private companies, is also supplying several other military products to Israel. According to a report published in an Indian news website, The Wire, "Munitions India Ltd (MIL) – a public sector enterprise under the Ministry of Defence – has also been permitted to ship its products to Israel as recently as January 2024."

"Similarly, The Wire reported, "a private Indian company, Premier Explosives Ltd. which has been exporting explosives and allied accessories to Israel under Special Chemicals, Organisms, Materials, Equipment and Technologies (SCOMET) licence at least since 2021, has been permitted to export these items twice since Israel’s war on Gaza began last year – on November 20, 2023, and January 1, 2024."

On 4 September 2024, a group of former diplomats, activists and academics from India filed a petition in India's Supreme Court seeking its intervention in the matter. The petitioners demanded that, "India cancels any existing licences/permissions and halts the grant of new licences/permissions, to various companies in India, for exports of arms and other military equipment to Israel." It further says, "India should immediately suspend its aid to Israel, in particular its military assistance including military equipment, in so far as this aid may be used in the violation of the Genocide Convention, international humanitarian law or other peremptory norms of general international law. India must immediately make every effort to ensure that weapons already delivered to Israel are not used to commit genocide, contribute to acts of genocide or are used in such a way as to violate international humanitarian law."

While the court's timeline for hearing the case remains uncertain, historical precedent suggests that Indian courts may be hesitant to challenge executive decisions in matters of this nature. Even though, according to available data, at least 40435 Palestinians have been killed and 93534 have got injured in ongoing Israel bombardment on Palestinians people. According to the latest report by United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees, "at least 1.9 million people (or nine in ten people) across the Gaza Strip are internally displaced, including people who have been repeatedly displaced (some, up to 10 times)."

India-Israel Relationship

Given that India was the first non-Arab nation to oppose Israel joining the UN in 1948 and it's recognition of PLO in 1974 and Palestinian statehood in 1988, India's recent export of military equipment to Israel marks a significant departure from its past foriegn policy. However, a closer examination of its foreign policy history reveals that this development may be a culmination of a long-standing, albeit less overt, engagement with Israel.

India's changed policy towards Israel began in 1990s with the rise of semi fascist political organisations such as the Bharatiya Janata Party. The BJP, like many ultra nationalist parties, has always supported Israel against Palestinian people’s struggle for liberation and self rule. However, until 1990s they had very limited say in India's foreign policy. And their weaker positions dictated that they adhered to the traditional policy. This can be very well understood by a statement of Atal Bihari Vajpayee who in 1977, when he became an external affairs minister in the Janata Party Government. Clarifying his position he stated in a rally, "it is being said that the newly formed Janata Party Government will not support Arabs but Israel. Let me tell you this, that for a permanent peace in the Middle-East, Israel must vacate Palestinian land it has illegally occupied. And rights of Palestinians should be established." Later when he became the prime minister in 1996, India witnessed unprecedented increase in mutual diplomatic visits between two countries.

Until 1990s India followed, albeit for its own interests, regional and international, the policy of non alignment. Until then, at least apparently, it supported resolution of Israel-Palestine conflict in the larger interest of Palestinian people. Yet, it continued to have trade relationship with Israel.

However post 1999s, as the Hindutva politics got firmer grounds, and it's anti minority rhetoric got strengthened, the domestic politics too began to change. In 1992, against the backdrop of anti Muslim Ram Janmabhoomi movement, which culminated in the demolition of a 16th century mosque by a Hindu mob, India established diplomatic relationship with Israel. (This incidentally was done by a Congress government,) Thus, reshaping the so called humanitarian relationship that was on since 1950s when India let Israel to establish immigration office in Mumbai, then Bombay. The immigration office was later converted into a Trade office and then into a Consulate.

Ever since then India-Israel relation has only grown stronger at the cost of the people of Palestine. According to a India's Ministry of External Affairs dossier, "from around USD 200 million in 1992 (comprising primarily of diamonds), merchandise trade diversified and reached around US$ 10.7 billion (excluding defence) in FY 2022-23." Currently, India is Israel's second largest trade partner in Asia and the seventh largest in the world.

Modi, Quad and Israel

Under Modi, India has firmly established itself as a junior partner under US led Western axis. In May 2022, Modi took part in the launch of Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity in Tokyo. The IPEF is an economic wing of the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue or Quad. The Quad, formed in 2007, is a partnership between America, Australia, India and Japan. Though the four countries call it an economic partnership but in reality it is a military partnership with a tacit aim of encircling China and containing its growing economic and strategic influence around the world, especially in Asia and Africa. No wonder that when IPEF was launched China called it an "economic NATO."

The Quad by its very structure is imperialistic, and until previous regime, India showed lack of interest in continuing with the Quad. After Australia left the Quad in 2008, India didn’t participate in the efforts of its revival. Only after Modi took over that we see India's active involvement in the Quad. By the time of writing this, India had announced that it was going to host the 2025 Quad summit.

Under Modi, Indian semi colonial capitalist class, which Modi and his party represent and so do all the Hindutva forces, has become greedy for the exploit of the new wave of Western imperialism, even if it meant trading off country's sovereignty and embracing neo-colonialism and betraying the third world. In "the new world order", today's India has started to look more and more like Chiang Kai Shek's China before and after the World War Two.

In this background, India's shameless support for Israel has to be seen because Israel is a very important part of America's Quad policy. Since 2022, the USA is trying to expand the Quad to the Middle East. That year national security advisors (NSAs) of four countries — India, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and the United States — had met in Saudi Arabia for the said purpose. The Diplomat magazine, describing the meeting as "a second Quad in making," reported that prior to the visit for the meeting US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan had referred to "Middle East Quad of Israel, India, the US and UAE."

India's support to Israel's genocidal war in Gaza betrays its commitment to the cause of new Imperialism. India's policy change, though good for its semi colonial capitalist class, doesn’t bode well for its poor working classes. India's entanglement in the larger US-China rivalry will only bury its people further into misery which is already manifesting today in severe unemployment, agriculture crisis and erosion of democracy.

The following information is from the website of Indian Embassy in Israel.

Investments by Indian corporate houses in Israel and Israeli investments in India

Cumulative ODI from India during April 2000 to March 2024 was US$ 396 million*. Indian companies are marking their presence in Israel through mergers and acquisitions and by opening branch offices. TCS, State Bank of India, Sun Pharma, Infosys, Tech Mahindra and Wipro Infrastructure Engineering, Lohia Group are some major Indian companies which have operations or made acquisitions/investments in Israel. In 2022, a consortium led by India’s Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone Ltd (APSEZ) acquired the rights to operate the Haifa Port Company Ltd from the Government of Israel with an overall investment of US$ 1.18 billion.

(b) Indian major companies are also making a mark in the Israeli innovation ecosystem. Tata Group, Wipro, Sun Pharma, Reliance Industries, L&T Technology services are some of the major Indian firms that have made notable investments in Israeli startups directly or indirectly through venture capital firms or academic institutions. In March 2021, Indian Oil Corporation Limited launched a JV with Israel’s Phinergy to manufacture aluminium-air battery systems in India and promote green mobility through the development of fuel cells and indigenous hydrogen storage solutions. In March 2022, Ola Electric invested US$ 5 million in an Israeli battery technology company StoreDot specializing in extremely fast charging technology, as part of its plans to manufacture advanced chemistry cells/new energy systems in India. In February 2024, Indian Oil increased its stake in Phinergy with fresh investment thereby bringing its total investment in the Israeli company to $25 million. In June 2024, Sun Pharmaceutical Industries announced the complete merger of Israel’s Taro Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. with its subsidiary, making the Israeli company wholly-owned by Sun Pharma.

(c) Israeli investments in India: During April 2000 – March 2024, Israel's direct FDI into India was U.S. $314.8 million&. There are over 300 investments from Israel in India mainly in the high-tech domain, agriculture and water. These investments are varied in nature - manufacturing plants; R&D centers; subsidiaries, joint ventures and technology partnerships with Make in India etc. There is a growing preference for Israeli companies in sectors such as renewable energy, water technologies, homeland security, aerospace, defence, health and real estate in addition to traditional areas such as agriculture, cyber, chemicals, etc. Teva Pharmaceuticals, Ecoppia, Naa’n Dan Jain, Aqwise, Polemix, Eli Hajaj, Rivulis, Alumayer, Plasson, Huliot, Metzerplas, Avgol, IDE, Netafim, ADAMA, Mellanox, Dan Hotels, Watergen, Rivulis etc. are among the leading Israeli companies which have notable investments in India. Israeli defence companies are increasingly looking to Make-in-India through collaborations and acquisitions. In May 2024, Israel’s e-mobility company EVR motors opened a manufacturing facility in Manesar

Ref:  https://www.indembassyisrael.gov.in/pages?id=nel5a&subid=7ax9b

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