New Delhi: Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra Wednesday called Israel’s latest attacks on Gaza “criminal”, once again taking a sharply critical stance against the Benjamin Netanyahu administration even as her party maintains a more nuanced position on the issue.
Priyanka, who has aired her strong disapproval of Israel’s actions since the beginning of the ongoing conflict in October 2023, said Israel’s latest move, which marked an escalation following a brief, fragile, ceasefire, shows that “humanity means nothing to them”.
“The more criminally the Israeli government acts, the more they reveal themselves for the cowards they truly are. On the other hand, the bravery of the Palestinian people prevails. They have endured unimaginable suffering yet their spirit remains resilient and unwavering. Satyamev Jayate,” Priyanka posted on X.
Meanwhile, the Indian government has been walking the tightrope on the issue. “We are concerned at the situation in Gaza. It is important that all hostages are released. We also call for supply of humanitarian assistance to the people of Gaza to be sustained,” said the Ministry of External Affairs in a statement Wednesday.
Waves of fresh Israeli attacks on Gaza, which lies in ruins following relentless bombardments since 7 October 2023 in retaliation to a Hamas attack on Israeli territory, began Tuesday, with Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu asserting that the assault will continue until Hamas is destroyed and all hostages are freed.
In her post, Priyanka, who represents the Muslim-dominated Wayanad Lok Sabha constituency as an MP, criticised Israel saying the “cold-blooded murder of over 400 innocent civilians including 130 children by the Israeli government” shows that humanity means nothing to them.
“Their actions reflect an inherent weakness and inability to face their own truth. Whether western powers choose to recognise this or to acknowledge their collusion in the genocide of the Palesitinian people or not, all citizens of the world who have a conscience (including many Israelis), see it,” she added.
During the winter session of Parliament in December last year, Priyanka had drawn attention after carrying a tote bag emblazoned with motifs denoting solidarity with the Palestinian cause. Around the same time, she had also met Palestine embassy charge d’affaires Abed Elrazeg Abu Jazer, who presented her a keffiyeh, a traditional Palestinian scarf.
Also, in July last year, Priyanka had lashed out at Netanyahu over his remarks made in the US Congress that the ongoing conflict was “a clash between barbarism and civilization”.
“He is absolutely correct, except that it is him and his government that are barbaric and their barbarism is being given the unstinted support of most of the western world. It is truly a shame to watch,” Priyanka had said.
While the Congress has also been critical of the Netanyahu administration, it has so far not called it criminal. After the first round of Israeli attacks on Gaza in October-November 2023, the Congress had issued a statement terming Israel’s actions as “genocidal”. At the same time, it also condemned the Hamas attack on Israel.
“The Indian National Congress has always believed that the legitimate aspirations of the Palestinian people for a life of self-respect, equality and dignity must be fulfilled only through a process of dialogue and negotiations while ensuring the legitimate national security interests of the Israeli people,” the party had said in its first formal response after the 7 October 2023 incident.
The party, which has historically thrown its weight behind the Palestinian cause while in government or in the Opposition, did show some diffidence initially in condemning Hamas, an Islamic armed group controlling the Gaza Strip since 2007. A Congress Working Committee Resolution, issued soon after the conflict broke out in October 2023, skipped any mention of the Hamas attack, even as it called for an immediate ceasefire.
However, writing in The Hindu in November 2023, Congress Parliamentary Party chairperson dismissed suggestions that the Congress was in two minds on the issue.
Contrary to some mischievous suggestions, the position of the Indian National Congress has been long standing and principled: it is to support direct negotiations for a sovereign independent, viable and secure state of Palestine coexisting in peace with Israel. This is also the stand taken by the Ministry of External Affairs on October 12, 2023,” she wrote.
Since then, the party has ensured that all its statements condemn Hamas while reiterating its support for the Palestinian cause. Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi’s statements also reflected that nuanced approach.
After the hostilities broke out in 2023, Rahul had said that the killing of thousands of civilians in Gaza and actions such as cutting off supply of food, water and electricity were “crimes against humanity”.
At the same time, he added that Hamas’s killing of innocent Israelis and taking of hostages is a crime and must also be condemned. “The cycle of violence between Israel and Palestine must be brought to an end,” he posted on X on 19 October 2023.
(Edited by Gitanjali Das)
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