India continues to support Palestinian statehood
October 12, 2015, 8:17 pm

Mukherjee visited Jordan before travelling to Tel Aviv by plane and then by motorcade to Ramallah. Mukherjee reiterated his support for Palestinian statehood while in Amman [Xinhua]

Mukherjee told Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas that Delhi continues to support the Middle East process as well as the creation of an independent Palestinian state based on the 1967 demarcation.

Earlier in Amman, Mukherjee said: “India’s traditional support to the Palestinian cause remains steadfast and unwavering while we pursue strong relations with Israel. Our bilateral relations [with Israel] are independent of our relations with Palestine.”

“India supports a negotiated solution resulting in a sovereign, independent, viable and united state of Palestine, with East Jerusalem as its capital, living within secure and recognized borders,” he added during his visit to a university in Amman.

He said in Ramallah that India’s dedication to a peaceful resolution and independent Palestinian statehood had become an “integral” part of India’s foreign policy.

Mukherjee is due to meet Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday on the first day of his three-day visit.

Supporting Palestine

While in Ramallah, Indian press reported that Mukherjee gave the Palestinian Authority $5 million for budgetary support as well as pledged nearly $18 million for several projects.

Mukherjee also visited the mausoleum of Yasser Arafat, the iconic Palestine Liberation Organization resistance leader who died in 2004, before attending a state dinner hosted by Abbas.

Mukherjee extended an invitation for Abbas to visit Delhi.

Mukherjee’s visit comes amid heightened violence in Jerusalem where protests against Israeli settlers trying to storm the Al-Aqsa Mosque in September flared into street fights and attacks.

A number of Israelis have been stabbed – five have died; Israeli forces have killed at least 25 Palestinians.

Three Palestinian teenagers were shot dead on Monday. Three other Palestinians were wounded when they tried to stab Israeli commuters and soldiers, the Israeli military said.

An Israeli air raid on Gaza on Saturday killed a pregnant woman and her three-year-old daughter.

The BRICS Post with inputs from Agencies