Editor's Pick | India wants Israel to be mindful of Gaza deaths

External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar has reiterated India’s call for a two-state solution to permanently resolve the Israel-Palestine conflict. Speaking at the Munich Security Conference in Germany, he said Israel should have been mindful of civilian casualties in its (ongoing) response to Hamas’s October 7 attack, while calling that attack “terrorism”. “No caveats, no justification, no explanation. It was terrorism,” Mr. Jaishankar said during a panel discussion with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, and German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock. “It is important that Israel should be, should have been, very mindful of civilian casualties,” he said, adding that it has an obligation to observe international humanitarian law. He called for the return of Israeli hostages taken by Hamas and for the opening of a “sustainable humanitarian corridor” to provide relief in Gaza. The conflict in West Asia needs a “permanent” and “long-term” fix, Mr. Jaishankar said. According to the Gaza Health Ministry, at least 28,000 civilians — many of them children — have been killed in Israel’s retaliation for Hamas’s assault. At least 2.2 million people have been displaced since mid-December. Images of Mr. Jaishankar interacting with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi during the conference surfaced on social media on Saturday. Mr. Wang’s session was just before Mr. Jaishankar’s panel discussion and apparently the two Ministers had an interaction between the sessions. During his panel discussion, Mr. Jaishankar defended India’s foreign policy, which some, especially in the West, have implied is overly transactional. He was asked by the moderator, Rhoula Khalaf, Editor-in-Chief of the Financial Times, if India’s foreign policy could be accurately described as based on a “multiple choice mindset”. Specifically, he was asked about India buying Russian oil in the context of the U.S.-India bilateral relationship. “If I’m smart enough to have multiple options, you should be admiring me, you shouldn’t be criticising,” Mr. Jaishankar said. The Minister said he did not think having an apparent breadth of choice was problematic for India’s partners, pointing to his U.S. or German counterparts. Countries have different pulls and pressures and different histories, and different states of development, Mr. Jaishankar said, adding that he did not want an impression to form that Indian foreign policy was “purely and unsentimentally transactional”. India’s purchase of oil from Moscow had been under the scanner in the months following February 2022, when Russia invaded Ukraine. Especially scrutinised was how New Delhi and Washington navigated their close and growing partnership despite the U.S. being the main driver behind Western economic and trade sanctions on Russia, and Moscow and New Delhi sharing close ties. Mr. Jaishankar suggested India is a bridge between the West and other BRICS countries as he emphasised the difference between being non-West and anti-West, saying India was non-Western but had an “extremely strong” relationship with the West that was getting even better. The Hindu Explains Why did the Supreme Court invalidate electoral bonds? | Explained Is Russia testing a new anti-satellite weapon? | Explained The Hindu’s Daily News Quiz The ‘Grameen Bharat bandh’ was called by which farmers’ union? Jai Kisan Andolan Samyukt Kisan Morcha Bharatiya Kisan Union Ekta Ugraha Indian Farmers’ Association To know the answer and to play the full quiz, click here. [logo] Editor's Pick 18 February 2024 [The Hindu logo] In the Editor's Pick newsletter, The Hindu explains why a story was important enough to be carried on the front page of today's edition of our newspaper. [Arrow]Open in browser [Mail icon]More newsletters India wants Israel to be mindful of Gaza deaths External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar has [reiterated India’s call for a two-state solution]( to permanently resolve the Israel-Palestine conflict. Speaking at the Munich Security Conference in Germany, he said [Israel should have been mindful of civilian casualties in its (ongoing)]( response to [Hamas’s October 7 attack, while calling that attack “terrorism”.]( “No caveats, no justification, no explanation. It was terrorism,” Mr. Jaishankar said [during a panel discussion with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken]( and German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock. “It is important that Israel should be, should have been, very mindful of civilian casualties,” he said, adding that it has an obligation to observe international humanitarian law. He called for the return of Israeli hostages taken by Hamas and for the opening of a “sustainable humanitarian corridor” to provide relief in Gaza. The conflict in West Asia needs a “permanent” and “long-term” fix, Mr. Jaishankar said. [According to the Gaza Health Ministry, at least 28,000 civilians — many of them children]( — have been killed in Israel’s retaliation for Hamas’s assault. At least 2.2 million people have been displaced since mid-December. Images of Mr. Jaishankar interacting with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi during the conference surfaced on social media on Saturday. Mr. Wang’s session was just before Mr. Jaishankar’s panel discussion and apparently the two Ministers had an interaction between the sessions. During his panel discussion, Mr. Jaishankar defended India’s foreign policy, which some, especially in the West, have implied is overly transactional. He was asked by the moderator, Rhoula Khalaf, Editor-in-Chief of the Financial Times, if India’s foreign policy could be accurately described as based on a “multiple choice mindset”. Specifically, he was asked about [India buying Russian oil in the context of the U.S.-India bilateral relationship.]( “If I’m smart enough to have multiple options, you should be admiring me, you shouldn’t be criticising,” Mr. Jaishankar said. The Minister said he did not think having an apparent breadth of choice was problematic for India’s partners, pointing to his U.S. or German counterparts. Countries have different pulls and pressures and different histories, and different states of development, Mr. Jaishankar said, adding that he did not want an impression to form that Indian foreign policy was “purely and unsentimentally transactional”. India’s purchase of oil from Moscow had been under the scanner in the months following February 2022, when Russia invaded Ukraine. Especially scrutinised was how New Delhi and Washington navigated their close and growing partnership despite the U.S. being the main driver behind Western economic and trade sanctions on Russia, and Moscow and New Delhi sharing close ties. Mr. Jaishankar suggested India is a bridge between the West and other BRICS countries as he emphasised the difference between being non-West and anti-West, saying India was non-Western but had an “extremely strong” relationship with the West that was getting even better. The Hindu Explains [Arrow][Why did the Supreme Court invalidate electoral bonds? | Explained]( [Arrow][Is Russia testing a new anti-satellite weapon? | Explained]( The Hindu’s Daily News Quiz The ‘Grameen Bharat bandh’ was called by which farmers’ union? - Jai Kisan Andolan - Samyukt Kisan Morcha - Bharatiya Kisan Union Ekta Ugraha - Indian Farmers’ Association To know the answer and to play the full quiz, [click here.]( [Sign up for free]( Today’s Best Reads [[Centre extends Internet ban in 20 police stations of Punjab till February 24] Centre extends Internet ban in 20 police stations of Punjab till February 24]( [[Ashok Chavan | Chequered Congressman] Ashok Chavan | Chequered Congressman]( [[Starlink | Ukraine’s star-crossed partner] Starlink | Ukraine’s star-crossed partner]( [[Can rheumatoid arthritis be prevented? | Explained] Can rheumatoid arthritis be prevented? | Explained]( Copyright© 2024, THG PUBLISHING PVT LTD. 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