NEW DELHI: The Congress on Saturday claimed that Israel is advancing its vision of a "Greater Israel" under the cover of the West Asia war, effectively ending any hope for a Palestinian state, and criticised Prime Minister Narendra Modi for not raising his voice against its actions in the West Bank.
Congress general secretary in charge of communications, Jairam Ramesh, noted that it has been 28 days since the US-Israel aerial bombings of Iran and Iran’s counter-offensive began.
"In the past four weeks, while the world’s attention has been on the Strait of Hormuz and energy infrastructure in the Gulf countries, Israel has continued its brutalities against the people of Gaza, begun operations to create a large buffer zone in southern Lebanon, and taken decisive steps to convert its annexation of the West Bank into firm occupation," Ramesh said on X.
He added that the current West Asia war is providing cover for Israel to pursue its vision of Greater Israel while extinguishing any hope for a Palestinian state.
"The US-Israel bombardment of Iran began just two days after Mr Modi left Israel. What is not realised is that just a few days before he arrived, the Israeli cabinet had approved land registration in roughly half of the occupied West Bank for the first time since 1967," he said.
"This would lead to the dispossession of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians. Yet Mr Modi does not have the courage to raise his voice and speak truth to his good friend Benjamin Netanyahu," the Congress leader added.
The Congress had strongly criticised Prime Minister Modi’s visit to Israel last month, despite the country continuing attacks on civilians in Gaza.
The opposition party said the Modi government has made cynical and hypocritical statements regarding its commitment to the Palestinian cause, while in reality, it has abandoned them.
Israel’s dispossession and displacement of thousands of Palestinians in the occupied West Bank has intensified and drawn worldwide condemnation, Ramesh had said last month. Israel’s attacks on civilians in Gaza, he noted, continue mercilessly.