Modi’s Palestine visit is historic, but will not affect India-Israel ties

Palestine Center Brief No. 310 (February 9, 2018)

By Mohamed Mohamed

On February 10, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Ramallah, making him the first Indian premier to visit Palestine. Since there are no active airports on Palestinian territory — thanks to Israeli occupation and restrictions — he will fly to Jordan first, after which he will embark on a helicopter trip from Amman to Ramallah.

This will mark a historic event in India-Palestine relations, and Modi deserves some credit for such outreach to Palestinians, especially considering voters of his Right-wing nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) are likely not as sympathetic to the Palestinian struggle as are Indian Muslims, who represent a minority in India. The fact that he is travelling to Ramallah via Amman rather than Tel Aviv is also a respectable decision.”

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This article originally appeared in Hindustantimes.

Mohamed Mohamed is the Executive Director of the Palestine Center. 

The views in this brief are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of The Jerusalem Fund.