NEW DELHI: 18 July 2014

The Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI) while vehemently condemning Israel for the outrageous pounding of Palestinians has called upon the Indian Government to forthwith snap diplomatic relations with the Zionist state and put on hold all trade ties till normalcy is restored in the region.

SDPI national president A. Sayeed in a statement expressed his anguish and agony over the fact that Israel is waging unjust and despicable aggressive attacks against the innocent people of Palestine wherein even women and children are not being spared. The silence of the international community is shocking and exposes the duality and hypocrisy in today’s world order in its inequitable approach towards human rights in the world.

Sayeed said, similarly, it is shocking to see BJP ruled Union Government’s double-talk over the West Asia crisis. The hypocrisy of the government has been exposed to the hilt as in both houses of Parliament the government was seen stonewalling the resolution condemning the heavy aerial bombings by Israel killing over 200 Palestinians mostly women and children.

While Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed concern over the issue in his speech at BRICS 2014 summit in Brazil. Modi reportedly said that remaining mute spectators to countries being torn up, can have grave consequences and expressed concern over “grave instability that is fast seeping across borders” in West Asia and specifically mentioned that India is particularly concerned because this affects the lives of seven million Indian citizens, living in the Gulf region, Sayeed pointed out.

Sayeed recalled that since day one India has supported Palestinian cause and their right to statehood. For decades after Israel came into existence, India did not allow it to open its Embassy in New Delhi. India was one of the first countries outside the Arab world to support the Palestinian cause and had boycotted Israel till 1980s. It now, however, enjoys strong strategic and business relations with Israel too, although it maintains to support the Palestine’s right to freedom.

The statement stated that this is the third Israeli attacks on the people of Gaza Strip since 2006 when it started its illegal blockade after Hamas came to power through a fair election. It is believed that the Israeli onslaught is the reaction to thwart the unity effort between Fatah and Hamas.

Israel’s aggression on a territory which is under its occupation since June 1967 is a simple war crime. It is the duty of the Arab countries and human rights organizations to take Israel to the World Court of Justice and to impose strict boycott of Israel until it is forced to see reason, stops aggression and withdraws from occupied territories, the statement added.

Sayeed said that the Israeli decision to rain death and destruction on Gaza, to use lethal weapons of the modern battlefield on a largely defenseless civilian population, is the final phase in a decades-long campaign to ethnically-cleanse Palestinians.

He demanded that United Nations and other countries should put sufficient political and diplomatic pressure on Israel and to use economic embargo to halt the attack. It is very regrettable that the Arab and Gulf states are not fulfilling their moral responsibility in reaching out to Gaza, he added.