PM Modi "condemns violation of Qatar’s sovereignty", without naming Israel
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday said he spoke to Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al-Thani and conveyed his condemnation of the violation of the sovereignty of the “brotherly State of Qatar,” a day after Israel attacked Hamas’s senior leadership in the Qatari capital, Doha, while a US-proposed ceasefire for the genocide-battered Gaza Strip was under discussion.
Modi said on X, "Spoke with Amir of Qatar Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al-Thani and expressed deep concern at the attacks in Doha. India condemns the violation of the sovereignty of the brotherly State of Qatar."
"We support resolution of issues through dialogue and diplomacy, and avoiding escalation. India stands firmly in support of peace and stability in the region, and against terrorism in all its forms and manifestations," he said.
Qatar condemned the attack as a violation of international law and of its sovereignty, with multiple countries and blocs also lashing out at Israel.
The attack came at a time when Qatar, one of the lead mediators between Israel and the United States, on the one hand, and Hamas on the other, had been trying to broker a ceasefire in Gaza, where Israel has killed more than 64,600 people since October 2023, when it launched a genocidal war on the Palestinian enclave.
However, Modi did not mention the name of the attackers, the Israeli occupation.
Two days before, Israel and India signed a bilateral investment agreement to expand mutual trade, during far-right Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich’s visit to the South Asian country, further deepening ties with Israel under Hindutva politician Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The agreement, signed in New Delhi by Smotrich and Minister of Corporate Affairs Nirmala Sitharaman, aims to boost trade and investment flows between the two countries. Sitharaman stressed the need for greater collaboration in “cybersecurity, defence, innovation and high-technology."
The deal marked “an important strategic step for our joint vision”, said Smotrich, who has been sanctioned by several Western countries for his links to illegal settlements in the occupied West Bank.
The Indian government, under Narendra Modi, is often accused of defending Israel during the Gaza genocide. Many, including AIMIM, CPI(M), and several Muslim organisations, have launched fresh attacks on the Modi government over the new deal.
