Indian PM's 'historic' visit to Palestine aims to balance ties with Israel

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‍Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday became the first ever Indian prime minister to visit West Bank city of Ramalla on the first leg of his three-nation visit in West Asia and Gulf outreach. The leader himself calls the visit "historic."

The visit comes weeks after Modi hosted Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Many regard it as an Indian effort to balance its ties with Israel.

"We hope for peace and stability in Palestine, we believe a permanent solution is possible with dialogue," Modi said in a joint press statement.

Screenshot from Modi's twitter handle

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas noted the importance of India's role in ensuring the two-state solution.

"We rely on India's role as an international force of great standing through its historical role in the Non-aligned Movement and its increasing, growing power in strategic and economic levels, in a way that is conducive to a just and desired peace," Abbas said.

According to the Tribune, a major Indian newspaper with a worldwide circulation, one Palestinian senior official told the press that Abbas will ask India’s visiting prime minister to "support a multi-country sponsorship that would replace the United States as the sole mediator in future Israeli-Palestinian negotiations."

The Indian leader signed economic deals to boost relations with the Palestinians and Gulf states. According to senior Palestinian official Nabil Shaath, Modi and Abbas are to sign cooperation agreements worth 50 million US dollars, while so far the two have undergone 30 million US dollars worth of projects.

India was one of the earliest champions of the Palestinian cause, but in recent years it's turned to Israel for high-tech military equipment and anti-terrorism cooperation. Trade between India and Israel reached five billion US dollars last year.

Since Modi's nationalist party came to power in 2014, India has carefully calibrated its ties with the Arab world.

India joined 127 other countries in the United Nations General Assembly, opposing US President Donald Trump's decision of recognizing Jerusalem as Israel's capital last month.