As part of the string of high-level visits of Israeli leaders to India over the next couple of months, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar arrived in New Delhi on November 4, to meet with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar. This was Sa’ar’s first visit to India, which, ironically, did not include a meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
While the Israeli minister’s itinerary triggered speculations, former diplomat and analyst M K Bhadrakumar believes the only explanation could be that the Israeli dignitary’s consultation was hastily arranged. “One plausible explanation could be that PM has his hands full, what with the crucial state election in Bihar,” Bhadrakumar says in his blog post Indian Punchline.
He added that Sa’ar’s visit comes as Washington moves to launch a UN draft resolution in the Security Council seeking a mandate for the creation of an International Security Force (ISF) for Gaza. The countries whose troops will join the ISF under the common command of Egypt could potentially include troops from Azerbaijan, Indonesia, Turkey, and Pakistan, according to Israeli media.
The Security Council discussion on the US draft is expected to start in the near future. “Trump is in a hurry to get going with the proposed Council of Peace with himself as its viceroy with full powers to coordinate the recovery process and management of the destroyed territory in Gaza in accordance with a comprehensive plan,” Bhadra Kumar says, adding that Israel, however, is not fully on board with the plan to deploy ISF in Gaza.
There were also reports in Israeli media about how the officials of the Israeli Ministry of Defence made a startling disclosure a week ago during a closed-door briefing for members of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defence Committee about Pakistan’s inclusion in the ISF.
Bhadrakumar argues that during his rushed visit to Delhi, Minister Sa’ar would have sensitised Delhi that Israel is not in a position to dictate the composition of the IDF. “Interestingly, the only other meeting Sa’ar had in Delhi was with the National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, India’s ace Pakistan hand,” the former diplomat adds.
“This is the eleventh hour before a finalised version of the US document will be ready, and a Security Council mandate is sought, spelling out the details of countries that will constitute the ISF. Israel would be counting on India to pull all stops to block Pakistan’s inclusion in the IDF,” Bhadrakumar adds.
The diplomat further says that Delhi has cause to worry that the buck stops at the Oval Office. “Indeed, with all the humiliation and bitterness that India has undergone in the recent months at the hands of the US officials on the oil imports from Russia, it is too much to expect the PM to ask Trump for a favour, which is what PM Benjamin Netanyahu would have expected in happier circumstances. Delhi also has to be wary of Trump seizing the opportunity to propose mediation on India-Pakistan issues,” he claims.
Bhadrakumar says that an extended Pakistani military presence in Gaza could eventually morph into an Israel-Pakistan relationship of some sort.
