Israel wants India to formally designate Hamas and other groups in the coalition acting against it as terrorist organisations. Tel Aviv did the same with Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) a couple of years back and now expects “reciprocation” from India in its favour, reports said.
"Our request from India is to work hard to sanction and designate these organisations as terrorist groups. Israel designated Lashkar-e-Taiba a couple of years ago, and we would like to see this reciprocated,” news agency ANI quoted an Israeli official in Jerusalem as saying. The "strong global impact" and influence of New Delhi in the region means countries including Maldives, Bangladesh will pay attention if Hamas is declared evil by India, they added.
Israel wants to use India's regional influence
If Hamas and allies are declared terrorist organisations by India, it will have long-lasting impact across South Asia, Israel reportedly points out. Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs wants India to act in its favour on the basis of their understanding that New Delhi understands the “networks and linkages” behind these anti-Zionist groups predominantly operating from the Middle East.
Hamas and Lashkar-e-Taiba are linked, Israel maintains, adding that Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and Hezbollah have increasingly been relying on "transnational criminal groups" to carry out strikes.
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The Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) had earlier said that the two countries "have a common enemy." By declaring Hamas a terrorist group, it can be ensured that no operative of the militant group will enter the country, another official reportedly said. “It will be a good thing if India did. India and Israel have a common enemy. It will be good to have a clear statement on who we face,” Lt Col Nadav Shoshani, International Spokesperson for the IDF, was quoted as saying by the Times Of India (TOI) on December 1.
"We are putting pressure on India to designate Hamas... After having designated Lashkar-e-Taiba, we would like to see the same. It's not only about freezing assets or banning operatives from entering India. It signals that India has clearly seen what Hamas is doing, and no operative should step on Indian soil," the daily quoted the IDF officer as further saying.
Israel reportedly wants to rally its international allies ahead of the US-brokered ceasefire coming into force in Gaza as Hamas is reportedly trying to regroup and rebuild its depleted ranks.