At UNSC, India Voices Strong Support For Palestine, Condemns Attacks On Ships Transiting Strait Of Hormuz

 

New Delhi : India has reaffirmed its strong support for Palestine, calling for a two-state solution and urgent global action on Gaza's humanitarian crisis.

Speaking in Arabic at the United Nations Security Council debate on the situation in West Asia, India's Permanent Representative to the UN, Ambassador Parvathaneni Harish on Tuesday strongly assured Palestinians of India's support for them and commitment to a two-state solution that grants them "a sovereign, independent and viable" nation.

On the West Asia crisis, the Indian envoy said, "After a brief pause in the ongoing conflict in the region, there has been a worrying resumption of attacks and escalation of hostilities. This is deeply concerning and India calls for an immediate de-escalation of tensions."

 

strongly condemned the recent attacks on several vessels – GFS Galaxy, MT Al Bahiyah and MT Mombasa among them - during their transit through the Strait of Hormuz, this month. "Several Indian citizens were injured, including some seriously, one Indian tragically lost his life, and one is missing, in these attacks," he added.

The envoy said India has consistently condemned acts of violence targeting seafarers and disrupting free and safe navigation through international waterways like the Strait of Hormuz. "India strongly advocates a return to dialogue and diplomacy in the interests of peace, security and stability in the region. The targeting of commercial shipping and civilian infrastructure in the region must end, and free and unimpeded navigation and commerce through the international waterways in the region, in keeping with international law, must be restored at the earliest," he said.

Switching from English to Arabic, he said, "World's focus on the Strait of Hormuz must not divert our attention away from the dire humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip."

 

"The loss of civilian lives and destruction of civilian infrastructure are pressing concerns that the international community must act on immediately, with a deep sense of urgency," he said.

This was perhaps for the first time that an Indian diplomat spoke in Arabic at the Security Council. Harish, who studied Arabic at the American University in Cairo, is fluent in Arabic. When he switched from English to Arabic, UN interpreters took over, simultaneously translating his remarks into the other official languages, English, French, Spanish, Russian, and Chinese.

 

Also, Harish has a link to Palestine, as he was India's Representative to the Palestinian Authority stationed in Gaza City, a place now in ruins after Israeli attacks. Harish has also served with the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), the UN agency that supports Palestinian refugees.