India votes in favour of raising Palestine flag at UN

In a move that is set to impart an added traction to the Palestinian cause, the United Nations General Assembly voted overwhelmingly in favour of allowing the Palestine and Vatican flag to be flown in the UN. India was among the 119 countries that voted in favour of the resolution. The issue of raising the flags of the non-member observer states who maintain permanent observer missions at the UN headquarters had been gaining momentum for a while. The US and Israel were among the eight countries that voted against the resolution, while 45 countries, including the UK and EU countries, abstained.

India’s decision to vote in favour of Palestine flag being raised should dispel misgivings about its commitment to support the Palestinian cause. Amid With India’s improving ties with Israel and the Modi government’s enthusiasm for upscaling relation with Tel Aviv, there was growing concern among many that India may become indifferent towards the Palestinian cause. However, the Indian government has maintained that it still maintains the same stand on the Palestine issue, while trying to improve relations with Israel at the same time.

There was an uproar in Indian Parliament in July when India had decided to abstain in a UNHRC resolution against Israel for alleged human rights violations during the Gaza conflict. The opposition parties including the Left said the government was abandoning the Palestine cause and gravitating towards Israel. India’s External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj had denied any change in India’s policy on the issue at a press conference in May. “To say that we are tilted towards Israel or we are making any changes in our policy is wrong… with regard to Palestine India’s foreign policy has not undergone any change,” Ms Swaraj had said

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to travel to Israel next year, which will make him the first Indian prime minister to visit the country. The growing closeness in the defence relations between India and Israel over the years and the recent procurement of modern weapons from Israel has led many in the strategic community to believe that India is changing its policy tilting more towards Israel.

The Israel-Palestine conflict has been a sensitive issue in India. While the Congress-led governments were vocal about the Palestine cause, the BJP-led governments have traditionally been in favour of strong ties with Israel and less vocal about the Palestine issue.

This latest vote allowing Palestine to raise its flag in the UN shows while the ties with Israel get stronger, India is balancing its relations by still sticking with the same stand on the Palestine issue. The balancing of India’s relations between Israel and Palestine shows it is unlikely to abandon the support to the Palestine cause in the near future.

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