Israel has raised the issue of Palestine with India, less than a month after New Delhi’s UN vote against the US’ decision to recognise Jerusalem as the capital of the Hebrew State.

“The two Prime Ministers discussed the developments pertaining to the Israeli-Palestinian Peace Process,” said the joint statement issued by the Ministry of External Affairs after the meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Israeli counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu.

Traditionally, India has been a supporter of the two-State solution in which both Israel and Palestine can co-exist peacefully as independent countries.

“They (Modi and Netanyahu) reaffirmed their support for an early resumption of peace talks between Israelis and Palestinians for arriving at a comprehensive negotiated solution on all outstanding issues, based on mutual recognition and effective security arrangements, for establishing a just and durable peace in the region,” said the joint statement.

According to Vijay Gokhale, Secretary (External Relations), Ministry of External Affairs, the Israeli side expressed its position and so did India on the contentious issue.

“We have cleared our own position both on the status of Jerusalem and on Palestine. What the two sides agreed was that our relationship was much larger than any single issue and that we need to look at it holistically and while we continue to talk to each other, our relationship is not determined by this single issue,” Gokhale said.

At the UN General Assembly last month, India was among the 128 countries that rejected US’ decision to shift its consulate to Jerusalem.

In May 2017, during the visit of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, Modi had urged him to find a peaceful resolution to the issue.

India and Israel are celebrating 25 years of diplomatic ties this year. Netanyahu’s visit has triggered nationwide protests by Left parties, which have been agitating for a “Free Palestine.”

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