NEW DELHI: Stopping well short of using the ‘terror’ word, Congress on Sunday condemned the “brutal attacks” on Israel, while asserting that the legitimate aspirations of the Palestinian people should be resolved through dialogue. The party said violence could not be the solution to any problem.
The opposition party’s comment was in sharp contrast to the government’s stand on Saturday, where PM Narendra Modi called the Hamas offensive “terrorist attacks in Israel”.
Congress spokesman Jairam Ramesh said, “Congress condemns the brutal attacks on the people of Israel. Congress has always believed that the legitimate aspirations of the Palestinian people for a life of self-respect, equality and dignity must be fulfilled only through a process of dialogue and negotiations, while ensuring the legitimate national security interests of the Israeli people. Violence of any type never provides a solution and must stop.”
In June 2021, when a global controversy erupted over the Israeli forces’ storming of the Al Aqsa compound, Congress had issued a statement expressing concern over “press reports indicating a perceptible shift in the Indian position between the Indian intervention in the UN Security Council on May 16 and our statement in the UN General Assembly on May 20”. The party had said the initial statement was appropriate in noting that “intrusion by Israeli forces into the holy Al Aqsa mosque during Ramzan prayers ruptured the delicate peace in the region”, but its omission in the UNGA was “incomprehensible”.