Knesset | Pakistan

Prime Minister Narendra Modi told lawmakers in Jerusalem on Wednesday that India stands “firmly” with Israel following Hamas’s attack on October 7, 2023. Modi also met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during a two-day visit aimed at deepening trade and defence ties that has drawn criticism at home. “I … carry with me the deepest condolences of the people of India for every life lost and for every family whose world was shattered in the barbaric terrorist attack by Hamas on October 7,” Modi said in the Knesset, the Israeli parliament. “We feel your pain, we share your grief. India stands with Israel firmly with full conviction in this moment and beyond.” In his speech, Modi did not explicitly mention the tens of thousands of Palestinians killed in Gaza during the more than two-year-long Israeli onslaught. But he said that India “supports all efforts that contribute to durable peace and regional stability”. Modi also told Israeli lawmakers that his country’s economic growth and Israel’s leadership...

The Israeli opposition has planned to boycott the address of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the Knesset during his visit to the country, top Israeli daily Haaretz reported on Tuesday. The Indian prime minister will visit Israel from February 25 to 26, India’s foreign ministry said on Tuesday. It will be Modi’s second visit to Israel. According to the report, the opposition — led by Yair Lapid — is in a “standoff” with Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana due to his decision not to invite the Israeli Supreme Court President Isaac Amit to attend a special session of the parliament “as is customary”. The report said that Lapid on Monday urged Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to ensure Amit’s invitation. According to Haaretz, Lapid, in a post on X, said: “We want to be in the session, we need to be in the session. Prime Minister Netanyahu must instruct Ohana to allow us to participate in the session.” As per the report, Lapid, while speaking in the Knesset last week, warned that “boycotting Justice Amit is...