Opinion: Could India be considered complicit in Israel’s genocide in Gaza?

On September 8, Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich visited New Delhi and signed a bilateral investment treaty with the Indian government. Smotrich was welcomed in New Delhi visit barely a week after the International Association of Genocide Scholars said that Israel is committing genocide in the Gaza Strip.

An ultranationalist, Smotrich is one of two Israeli ministers against whom Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Norway and the United Kingdom have issued sanctions for his incitement to violence against Palestinians.

In India, too, progressive parties and organisations opposed Smotrich’s visit. The Communist Party of India (Marxist) said it was “shameful” that the Indian government had “signed agreements with the Israeli government at a time when the people of Gaza are being massacred every day”.

Asaduddin Owaisi, and member of Parliament and president of the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen, posted on X criticising the signing of bilateral agreements “when Israel is overseeing genocide, ethnic cleansing & famine of Gaza”.

The Bharatiya Janata Party government has not overturned India’s 1988 recognition of the Palestine State and supports the two-state solution for the resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. However, when it comes to Gaza, the BJP-led central government conveniently calls for humanitarian aid without condemning the genocidal attack against Gaza’s civilian population.

The Indian government’s invitation to Smotrich and the signing of the trade...

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