Couched in the humanitarian concern for the plight of Gaza residents, the opposition did its best to play to the gallery, insinuating that because of the BJP government, religious motives cannot be far behind. In her reply, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj did well to remind her opposition colleagues that India's relations with Palestine and Israel are a legacy of previous governments, including the Congress-led UPA government of the recent past.
As individuals, Indian parliamentarians, much like ordinary Indians, can have all the sympathy for the plight of civilians trapped in Gaza. But they cannot demand that the Indian state merely become a reflection of individual sensitivities. It should, by its very definition, weigh the larger strategic realities and act accordingly as a guarantor of Indian interests.
But when it comes to India's ties with Israel, the hypocrisy of the Indian political establishment is increasingly becoming counterproductive. Despite representing a nation that is one of the biggest victims of cross-border terrorism in the world, our esteemed members of Parliament have had no compunction in equating the actions of a liberal democratic Israel with the murderous extremism of a terrorist organisation such as Hamas. At a time when ordinary Muslims are being slaughtered in the Middle East by radical Islamist organisations from Syria to Iraq, words like 'massacre' and 'genocide' are only reserved for a legitimate-nation state trying to fend for its own security in a very dangerous part of the world.
It was Israel that unilaterally evacuated Gaza in 2005 and all it got in return are constant Hamas provocations. If Hamas really wants, then there can be an end to hostilities tomorrow. But that's not really its goal. This is a crisis not of Israel's making but it is being forced to make hard choices between unappealing options. Israel's ground operation is focused on targeting rocket-launching capabilities and especially the tunnels, which have become a major threat to Israel.
Despite the Congress Party's breast-beating today, the reality remains that there has been a steady strengthening of India's relationship with Israel ever since the two established full diplomatic relations in 1992. In contrast to the back-channel security ties that existed before the normalisation of bilateral relations, India has been more willing in recent years to carve out a mutually beneficial bilateral relationship with Israel, including deepening military ties and countering the threat terrorism poses to the two societies.
Over the years, the Indian government has also toned down its reactions to Israel's treatment of the Palestinians. India has also begun denouncing Palestinian suicide bombings and other terrorist acts in Israel, something that was seen earlier as rather justified in light of the Israeli policies against the Palestinians. India is no longer initiating anti-Israel resolutions at the UN and has made serious attempts to moderate the NAM's anti-Israel resolutions. This re-evaluation has been based on a realisation that India's largely pro-Arab stance in the Middle East has not been adequately rewarded by the Arab world.
India has received no worthwhile backing from the Arab countries in the resolution of problems it faces in its neighbourhood, especially Kashmir. There have been no serious attempts by the Arab world to put pressure on Pakistan to reign in the cross-border insurgency in Kashmir. On the contrary, the Arab nations have firmly stood by Pakistan, using the Organisation of Islamic Conference to build support for Islamabad and the jihadi groups in Kashmir. If Arab nations, such as Jordan, have been able to keep their traditional ties with Palestine intact while building a new relationship with Israel, there is no reason for India not to take a similar route, which might give it more room for diplomatic manoeuvring. Keeping India's wider strategic interests in perspective, successive Indian governments since the early 1990s have walked a nuanced line between expressing genuine concern for the Palestinian cause and expanding its commercial and defence ties with Israel.
The domestic political milieu continues to exert its substantial influence on the trajectory of India-Israel relations. Israel has been a good friend of India but New Delhi continues to be shy of demonstrating its friendship. At crucial times, when India needed Israeli help, it got it unreservedly. Israel was willing to continue and even step up its arms sales to India after other major states curbed their technological exports following India's May 1998 nuclear tests. Israel provided India much-needed imagery about Pakistani positions using its UAVs during the Kargil War with Pakistan in 1999 that was instrumental in turning the war around for India. When India was planning to undertake a limited military strike against Pakistan in June 2002 as part of "Operation Parakram," Israel supplied hardware through special planes. The terrorism that both India and Israel face comes not only from disaffected groups within their territories; it is also aided and abetted by neighbouring states, increasingly capable of transferring weapons of mass destruction to terrorist organisations.
When Indian politicians decide to wade into the troubled waters of the Middle East, they should recognise that vital Indian interests are at stake and meaningless posturing can do them great damage.
The writer teaches at King's College, London