Israel on Saturday thanked India for not voting on an “anti-Israel bashing” UNHRC resolution, which sources said was a result of Tel Aviv’s sustained talks with the Indian leadership over the past year.
Israeli envoy to India Daniel Carmon tweeted his appreciation: “We appreciate votes by members of @UN_HRC, including #India, who did not support yet another anti-Israel bashing resolution. We thank them.”
On Friday, India abstained on a United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) resolution condemning Israel over a UN report into the alleged war crimes committed during the 2014 Gaza conflict marking a significant change in India’s stance.
Forty-one of the 47 UNHRC council members voted in favour of the resolution, including eight sitting EU members: France, Germany, Britain, Ireland, the Netherlands, Portugal, Latvia and Estonia. Only the US voted against the resolution. India, Kenya, Ethiopia, Paraguay and Macedonia abstained.
Israel has been in touch with the leaders of the five countries that abstained since last July, when India had voted against Israel in the UNHRC.
Officials in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office have said that Netanyahu had himself spoken with the leaders of India, Kenya and Ethiopia over the past few days, Israeli media reported.
Israel feels the UNHRC vote on the violence in the Gaza Strip was “politicised” and “unbalanced”. According to Israel, the resolution does not take into account the 5,000 rockets fired into its territory by Hamas.
IANS
