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The Opposition walked out after its demand for issuing a resolution on Gaza was not accepted. After the short discussion, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj said "all governments have continued the policy that we support the Palestinian cause but we continue to have relations with Israel."
Beginning the debate, the leader of the opposition in the upper House Ghulam Nabi Azad accused the government of acting as a "spectator" to the ongoing "massacre" in Palestine and demanded the House in the tradition of late prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru and even Bharatiya Janata Party's Atal Bihari Vajpayee support the state of Palestine and condemn the actions of Israel.
CPIM's s, Sitaram Yechury in a passionate address stated, "India is sitting as mere spectator and it took us seven days to think whether we should even discuss it or not." Terming it as nothing short of a "genocide" in Palestine by Israeli force Yechury demanded "immediate suspension of all military purchases from Israel".
In her reply Swaraj reminded Yechury, "Two such similar incidents of violence had taken place in 2008 and 2012. You had supported the government from outside but you never asked them to stop the purchase of arms. ...Why did you change your stand with the change in the government?"
BJP's speakers Anil Dave, Chandan Mitra and Tarun Vijay caused an uproar from the Opposition benches when they rejected the demand for a Gaza specific resolution insisting that the Indian Parliament must condemn all atrocities and violence across the world.
JD(U)'s Sharad Yadav condemned the "communal" tones being attempted to be given by the treasury benches to the Parliament's demand for discussion on the issue. "In BRICS when your leader and PM has signed a declaration condemning Israel, why are you not allowing it, told the government. His party colleague KC Tyagi said, "Israel cannot be equated on the same scale as Palestine."
Swaraj in her response while rejecting the demand for issuing a resolution said that government refused to take sides over the Gaza conflict and urged that Israel and Palestine should resturn to the table and have peace talks. She said "There is no change in this policy in Narendra Modi's government nor during Atal Bihari Vajpayee's time. NDA was for 5 years while Congress for 10 years. Even the coalition governments followed the same policy."
A miffed Opposition which included the Trinamool Congress as well staged a walk out as the government did not agree to issue a resolution.
