Backing Israel’s genocide: Not just the US
India's support for Israel is unique in the Global South
By this point, we all know the US has sent billions of dollars in military aid and thousands of lethal weapons to perpetuate Israel's genocide and ethnic cleansing plan in Gaza. On February 23, experts from the United Nations published a statement warning nation states to refrain from transferring weapons or ammunition to Israel that would be used in Gaza in violation of international and humanitarian law. With the spotlight on the US—Israel's biggest ally—little is said about other governments around the world who are also supporting Israel politically, militarily, and economically—weighing strategic partnerships in the geopolitical fora with more importance than their citizens' moral compasses.
The Indian Ministry of External Affairs has ruled out security concerns for Indian workers being sent to Israel, stating that the country's labour laws are very strict and robust. But isn't Netanyahu fighting a war to destroy Hamas and ensure Israel's safety? If the Israeli land is safe enough for thousands of Indian workers, then, why is Israel killing thousands of Palestinians on the other side of the border?
Since October 7 last year, over 30,000 civilians have been killed in Gaza at a historic pace, and over a million have been displaced, in indiscriminate attacks that may amount to a genocide, according to a preliminary ruling by the International Court of Justice (ICJ), a US federal court, as well as dozens of UN experts and legal scholars. Following the ICJ ruling on January 26, the Italian and Spanish prime ministers said they have stopped all arms sales to Israel since the war began in Gaza, more than four months ago. Subsequently, on February 5, a Dutch high court banned The Netherlands from continuing its export of F-35 parts to Israel. Two Japanese arms companies also ended their MoUs with Elbit Systems, Israel's largest weapons manufacturer.
Germany, on the other hand, continues to unabashedly back Israel. It also must be noted that, unlike the US government which offers a degree of transparency, the EU and the UK do not provide as much public information, according to Campaign Against Arms Trade. The country's arms and military equipment sales to Israel increased tenfold from 2022 to 2023. In the few weeks after the start of Israel's attacks on Gaza, the German government approved 185 additional export licence applications to supply arms to Israel. On January 16, the Spiegel magazine reported that the country was considering sending tanks in "great secrecy"—10,000 rounds of 120mm precision ammunition—to Israel, while also offering to intervene in the genocide case.
The United Kingdom has also come under scrutiny for its complicity. The world's seventh-largest weapons manufacturer, UK company BAE Systems manufactures the M109 howitzer, a 155mm mobile artillery system that the Israeli military has been using extensively, firing tens of thousands of 155mm shells into the Gaza Strip. Some of these shells are also white phosphorous bombs—which have been used in Gaza illegally. While the US State Department recently announced they'll investigate whether white phosphorus was used in the Israeli attacks in Lebanon, the UK has not once publicly acknowledged that a British arms company has supplied the forbidden chemical bombs. The UK also supplies 15 percent of the components of F-35s—the Israeli army's flagship asset—employed in Israel's indiscriminate bombardment of Gaza, according to CAAT. The UK government has witnessed legal challenges launched by its human rights organisations for exporting British arms, and a warning from the Human Rights Watch. Yet, the nation is continuing to respond with its hardliner pro-Israel stance.
Interestingly, as some nations withdrew supplying arms following the ICJ order—Israel's biggest defence export market, India, emerged more starkly in the list of its backers. The first indication of India's tilt towards Israel was seen in their decision to abstain from a ceasefire in the first vote in the United Nations General Assembly, and the mass arrests of activists, particularly Muslims, in non-violent pro-Palestinian protests and vigils. Explaining India's drift from being a leading voice for decolonisation and strategic "non-alignment," to supporting Israel "unrecognisably," Member of Parliament Shashi Tharoor penned it on the nation's shifting foreign policy, with more affinity towards the US, whose concerns about China it shares. Though India has reiterated the need to send humanitarian aid, the nation has been cautious and withdrawn to criticise Israel, especially compared to its neighbour Bangladesh, which was the first nation to officially offer to file a declaration of intervention to support South Africa's case. India is also the only nation in the Global South, and in BRICS, which has been backing Israel.
On February 7, the Indian news channel TV9 Hindi reported that the Israeli army is set to include 20 Indian-made Hermes 900 drones in its expanding fleet of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). It was first reported on February 4, by defence-related website, Shephard Media, that Hyderabad-based Adani-Elbit Advanced Systems India Ltd, a joint venture since 2018 between India's Adani Defence and Aerospace and Israel's Elbit Systems became the first entity to manufacture Israeli UAVs outside of Israel. Though New Delhi and Tel Aviv have not publicly acknowledged the export of 20 drones, sources at Adani confirmed to The Wire that the export had indeed taken place.
Drones have been on the frontlines of Israel's aggression in Gaza, as they strategically reduce risks to soldiers. The Hermes 900 drones that India has reportedly exported to Israel are capable of remaining airborne for over 30 hours, and are considered one of the four types of lethal or "killer" drones that Israel has been using. The Hermes drones were first used by Israel in 2014 in Gaza, where 37 percent of the 2,100 people were killed due to Israeli drones according to the Al Mezan Center for Human Rights.
A defence analyst in India, Girish Linganna, told Middle East Eye, "Regrettably, it is highly likely that drones manufactured through the Adani-Elbit venture may be deployed in Gaza. When India supplies drones to Israel, it becomes indirectly linked to any actions those drones take in Gaza. This blurs the line between the supplier and potential accomplice, even if India has no direct control over how the drones are used."
Recently, Indians for Palestine publicly sent out a statement urging the Prime Minister Narendra Modi to endorse the latest ICJ ruling and refrain from "any sort of complicity with Israel." The group also criticised India's close ties with Israel, saying, "unlike many other countries in the Global South that are re-assessing their relations with Israel, India continues its close collaboration with it, particularly in the defence and surveillance sectors."
The recent development has been seen as a distinct escalation of India's support for Israel, and has added more fuel for criticism by prominent activists who were already vocal about India's passive approach towards Palestinians. In December last year, writer Arundhati Roy significantly criticised India's response to Israel's aggression in Gaza. During her acceptance speech at the P Govinda Pillai award function held in Thiruvananthapuram, Roy said, "We, as a country, have lost our moral compass. The streets of our country, which once was a true friend of colonised people, a true friend of Palestine, where one would have seen millions marching, too, are silent today."
Some activists have also condemned India's response to Israeli construction companies asking the Indian government to allow them to hire up to 100,000 workers to replace 90,000 Palestinians whose work permits were revoked following the October 7 attacks. The seizure of work permits is seen as economic exclusion of Palestinians—one of the ways Israel is executing its ethnic cleansing plan.
With India's unemployment rate hovering just over eight percent, Israel's offer is seen as a way to address unemployment of low-skilled workers at home and earn foreign exchange as well. But labour activists have raised concerns that sending workers to Israel, a conflict zone, endangers their lives. The Ministry of External Affairs, however, ruled out security concerns and putting Tel Aviv on the "Emigration Clearance Risk," stating that the labour laws in Israel are very strict and robust. This brings us to a fundamental dilemma: isn't Netanyahu fighting a war to destroy Hamas and ensure Israel's safety? Each time the US vetoes the ceasefire, it does so on the ground of Israel's right to defend itself and ensure full security to prevent October 7 attacks from happening again. If the Israeli land is safe enough for thousands of foreign workers, then, why are they killing thousands of people in the neighbouring country?
According to Al Jazeera, the Haryana government advertisements said the salary for the jobs would be approximately USD 1,625 workers a month—in a state where per capita income is around USD 300 a month. In December, the Israeli government approved the arrival of 10,000 workers, and on January 31, the Indian media reported that 10,000 workers would reach Israel in batches and more is expected soon. The aftermath of the Hamas attacks expedited an agreement that was already in place between the Indian and Israeli government. In May, 2023, Israeli foreign minister Eli Cohen signed an agreement with his Indian counterpart, S Jaishankar, allowing 42,000 workers to migrate for work. Some analysts have pointed out that sending Indian workers to Israel now could also hurt their employment prospects in the fiercely competitive job markets in several other Arab countries, and entangle them in a deadly war in the Middle East.
Despite widespread protests in all of the countries that are backing Israel and backlash from humanitarian groups, the governments have maintained their positions. The UN's calls to cease arms sales and support the ICJ case continue to fall on deaf in a world where politics of power and great power rivalries have overtaken the values of democracy and humanity. Whether one calls it realism or realpolitik, both the blatant and subtle support for Israel's genocide against Palestinians shows that the world we live in today is becoming more soulless by the day.
Ramisa Rob is a journalist at The Daily Star.
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