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New Indian Express
3 hours ago
- Politics
- New Indian Express
Of ties, old and new
The book starts with how Mahatma Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru drew a direct connection between the Indian freedom struggle and the Palestinian cause; independent India's foreign policy in the formative years was also based on this connection. In the next four decades, this relationship started changing—a notable example, according to the author, was the Indo-China war, when Nehru wrote to the first Israeli Prime Minister David Ben Gurion and sought help. The author claimed that Nehru took the decision of buying arms from Israel, but later stopped the purchase as it made Gamal Abdel Nasser, the President of Egypt, and Nehru's close partner in the Non-Aligned Movement 'unhappy'. The Modi era The author also traces an ideological connection between Hindutva and Zionism. In 2015, a year after the BJP government came to power, India abstained from voting against Israel at the UN Human Rights Council. Essa also writes about Savarkar's conception of the Hindu Rashtra being similar to the idea of the Jewish state. Modi, in fact, carries forward Atal Bihari Vajpayee's legacy in this regard. 'It was under Vajpayee's government that Delhi first hosted an Israeli prime minister, Ariel Sharon in 2003. So, Vajpayee was involved in taking the relationship with Israel forward. When Modi came to power in 2014, he wanted to build a Hindu state, in which Hindus would have more privileges than others. And Israel had already built that state, a so-called Jewish democratic state in which Jews had more rights than Palestinians, be they Muslims or Christians. Modi also sees Israel as a strong militaristic state, with an outsized influence over the world, and Modi wants to replicate that, too,' Essa tells TMS.
Yahoo
5 hours ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Venezuela to probe El Salvador's Bukele for ‘torture' of US deportees
Venezuela has launched an investigation into the role El Salvador's President Nayib Bukele and his senior officials played in the alleged torture of 252 migrants who were detained in the Central American country after being deported from the United States. Venezuelan Attorney General Tarek William Saab made the announcement in Caracas on Monday, as he presented photos and testimonies of some of the men, who said they were beaten, sexually abused and fed rotten food while inside a notorious El Salvador prison. Others were denied medical care or treated without anaesthesia, Saab said, urging the International Criminal Court (ICC) and the UN Human Rights Council to act. The Venezuelans were sent to El Salvador from the US in March, after US President Donald Trump invoked the 1798 Alien Enemies Act to deport alleged members of the Tren de Aragua gang without due process. The deportations drew fierce criticism from human rights groups and a legal battle with the Trump administration. Family members and lawyers of many of the men deny they had gang ties. Prisoner swap The former detainees arrived near Caracas on Friday following their release in El Salvador, in exchange for 10 US citizens and political prisoners held in Venezuela. Saab said the prosecutor's office was interviewing the returned migrants. Some of the former detainees have since reunited with their families, but they have not yet returned to their own homes. Several had bruises on their bodies, marks of being shot with rubber bullets, and one had a split lip. Andry Hernandez Romero, a 32-year-old beautician among those sent to El Salvador, said he barely survived the ordeal. 'We were going through torture, physical aggressions, psychological aggressions,' he said in a video presented by Saab. 'I was sexually abused.' Others spoke of being held in 'inhuman cells', deprived of sunlight and ventilation, and given rotten food and unsafe drinking water while in the El Salvador prison. The men had no access to lawyers or their relatives, and the last time many of them were seen was when Bukele's government issued photos of them arriving at the prison shackled and with their heads from Bukele, Venezuela will investigate El Salvador's Justice Minister Gustavo Villatoro and Head of Prisons Osiris Luna Meza, Saab said. Bukele's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the media. Late on Monday, Bukele posted about the return on social media but did not comment on the abuse allegations. 'The Maduro regime was satisfied with the swap deal; that's why they accepted it,' he said on X. 'Now they scream their outrage, not because they disagree with the deal but because they just realised they ran out of hostages from the most powerful country in the world.' President Nicolas Maduro, on his TV show on Monday, claimed Bukele had tried 'last minute' to prevent the migrants from leaving. 'You could not stop the first plane, but for the second plane he put some car on the runway … to provoke either an accident or prevent them from leaving,' he said. Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado labelled the process as an 'exchange of prisoners of war' during a television interview on Monday. Venezuela itself faces an investigation by the ICC in The Hague, with similar allegations of torturing prisoners and denying them access to legal representation of political prisoners. Solve the daily Crossword
The Age
a day ago
- Health
- The Age
Australia and allies condemn Israel over ‘inhumane' Gaza aid deaths
Australia has joined 24 other nations to condemn Israel over the deaths of hundreds of Palestinians seeking aid, calling on it to lift restrictions to food and medical supplies, while urging an immediate end to the conflict. Signed by Foreign Minister Penny Wong and her counterparts from the UK, France, and Canada, the joint statement published late Monday accused Israel of an 'unacceptable' denial of humanitarian aid and warned they were prepared to take action to help bring about a ceasefire. 'The suffering of civilians in Gaza has reached new depths. The Israeli government's aid delivery model is dangerous, fuels instability and deprives Gazans of human dignity,' the statement said. 'We condemn the drip feeding of aid and the inhumane killing of civilians, including children, seeking to meet their most basic need of water and food. It is horrifying that over 800 Palestinians have been killed while seeking aid.' The 25 countries are demanding Israel urgently boost the flow of aid and enable the UN and charities 'to do their life-saving work safely and effectively' after 85 Palestinians were killed trying to access food in various locations, according to the territory's health ministry. After the breakdown of the initial January ceasefire, Israel imposed a humanitarian blockade on the strip in March before overhauling the delivery of aid. The international community has criticised the replacement of established NGOs with the US and Israel-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation. According to the UN Human Rights Council figures published last week, almost 900 people were killed in Gaza while trying to get food; '674 of them were killed in the vicinity of GHF sites.' Earlier on Monday Israeli tanks pushed into southern and eastern districts of the Gazan city of Deir al-Balah, an area of Gaza which had been largely untouched by the conflict and where tens of thousands of displaced Palestinians had sought refuge. The incursion has led to speculation that Hamas is holding large numbers of hostages there.
Sydney Morning Herald
a day ago
- Health
- Sydney Morning Herald
Australia and allies condemn Israel over ‘inhumane' Gaza aid deaths
Australia has joined 24 other nations to condemn Israel over the deaths of hundreds of Palestinians seeking aid, calling on it to lift restrictions to food and medical supplies, while urging an immediate end to the conflict. Signed by Foreign Minister Penny Wong and her counterparts from the UK, France, and Canada, the joint statement published late Monday accused Israel of an 'unacceptable' denial of humanitarian aid and warned they were prepared to take action to help bring about a ceasefire. 'The suffering of civilians in Gaza has reached new depths. The Israeli government's aid delivery model is dangerous, fuels instability and deprives Gazans of human dignity,' the statement said. 'We condemn the drip feeding of aid and the inhumane killing of civilians, including children, seeking to meet their most basic need of water and food. It is horrifying that over 800 Palestinians have been killed while seeking aid.' The 25 countries are demanding Israel urgently boost the flow of aid and enable the UN and charities 'to do their life-saving work safely and effectively' after 85 Palestinians were killed trying to access food in various locations, according to the territory's health ministry. After the breakdown of the initial January ceasefire, Israel imposed a humanitarian blockade on the strip in March before overhauling the delivery of aid. The international community has criticised the replacement of established NGOs with the US and Israel-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation. According to the UN Human Rights Council figures published last week, almost 900 people were killed in Gaza while trying to get food; '674 of them were killed in the vicinity of GHF sites.' Earlier on Monday Israeli tanks pushed into southern and eastern districts of the Gazan city of Deir al-Balah, an area of Gaza which had been largely untouched by the conflict and where tens of thousands of displaced Palestinians had sought refuge. The incursion has led to speculation that Hamas is holding large numbers of hostages there.
Leaders
4 days ago
- Politics
- Leaders
Israel Urges UN to Abolish Investigation Commission for Palestinian Territories
Israel has urged the UN Human Rights Council to abolish the commission of inquiry into human rights violations in the Palestinian territories and Israel, according to Reuters. Israel also accused the council of bias and discrimination. In the message sent on Wednesday, Israel's Ambassador to the UN, Daniel Meron, said The Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and Israel, discriminated against his country. 'The Commission of Inquiry, both in its mandate and in the work of its members, constitutes nothing less than a manifestation of the institutional discrimination against Israel in the Human Rights Council,' read the letter. Israel has repeatedly criticized findings by the UN-mandated commission, that has denounced the Israeli military's actions since it has launched its military campaign in Gaza in October 2023. Council spokesperson Pascal Sim said that Council President Jurg Lauber had already received the letter, but it would be up to the Council's 47 members to abolish the commission. In March, the commission concluded that Israel had carried out 'genocidal acts' against Palestinians during its war in Gaza. Since the beginning of Hamas-Israel War in Gaza in 2023, the Israeli strikes have killed more than 57,000 Palestinians and wounded more than 137,000, according to Gaza's Health Ministry. Related Topics: Israel to Increase Defense Spending amid Ongoing Deadly War in Gaza ICC Declines Israel's Bid to Halt Netanyahu Arrest Warrant Israel Strikes Damascus as Clashes Rage in Sweida Short link : Post Views: 5
