External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Thursday (local time) said the attack by Hamas on Israel on October 7 was a “big act of terrorism” and pointed out that there was also an issue of Palestine, which has to have a solution.
Speaking at Joint Secretary Session of the Senate’s External Affairs and Defence Commission, Rome, Jaishankar said dialogue and negotiation can be the solution to address the Israel-Palestine conflict and underlined that terrorism was “unacceptable”. He also reiterated that India’s stand on the issue has been a two-state solution.
“What happened on October 7 is a big act of terrorism and the subsequent happenings after that… This has taken the entire region to a different direction. But surely it must be everybody’s hope that eventually, the conflict cannot be the normal in the region…,” he said.
“Within this, we have to find a balance in between different issues… We all find terrorism unacceptable and we have to stand up against terrorism but there is also an issue of Palestine,” he said.
The External Affairs Minister said a solution to the Israel-Palestine issue cannot be through conflict and terrorism and stated India will not support those stands at all.
“There has to be a solution for the problems facing the Palestinian people. Our view is it has to be a two-state solution. If you have to find a solution, you have to find through dialogue and negotiation. you cannot find a solution through conflict and terrorism. So we will not support that as well,” he said.
Jaishankar stressed that international humanitarian law must be respected by everybody given the current situation in Gaza.
“So in any complex situation, it is not wise to not get the balance right. That is a very important part of addressing a very difficult and complicated situation,” he further said.