News Analysis India

Tag: Naor Gilon

  • Israel asks India to declare Hamas as a terror outfit

    Express News Service

    NEW DELHI:  Israel wants India to declare Hamas as a terrorist organisation, the country’s ambassador to India Naor Gilon said on Wednesday. “We have communicated this to India. We are in dialogue with the government, it’s a friendly talk,” Gilon added.

    Prime Minister Narendra Modi was among the first world leaders to condemn the October 7 attack on Israel. While India hit out at Hamas for the terror act, it later clarified that no alternative to the two-state solution can bring peace to the region. 

    As the conflict entered the 19th day, Israel is gearing up for a protracted war with Hamas. It is constantly hitting potential Hamas targets in Gaza while the ground offensive has been delayed due to “tactical and strategic considerations”. 

    Israel Defense Forces (IDF)  spokesperson Lt Col Peter Lerner said on Wednesday that the objective is to destroy Hamas. “A vast majority of areas are safe in Israel, but Hamas may try and infiltrate. So, we will have to destroy Hamas in its entirety,” he said. Israel has roped in 3 lakh reservists for the ongoing war. The IDF’s priority is to locate and bring back the 222 hostages who have been held captive by Hamas. Four hostages have been released so far. 

    On Wednesday, Israel’s Ambassador to the UN, Gilad Erdan, said that they would deny visas to UN officials after a remark by Secretary General Antonio Guterres appeared to justify the Hamas attack. Meanwhile, Gaza is running out of fuel and other essential items. Hospitals are low on fuel, which means if not replenished soon, there would be no scope for survival of patients in intensive care units. 

    Hezbollah huddle with Hamas, Islamic JihadSenior officials of Hamas and Islamic Jihad have held talks with Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, the Lebanese group said on Wednesday. The talks focused on achieving “real victory” against Israel. Hezbollah and the Palestinian groups agreed to coordinate  Follow The New Indian Express channel on WhatsApp

    NEW DELHI:  Israel wants India to declare Hamas as a terrorist organisation, the country’s ambassador to India Naor Gilon said on Wednesday. “We have communicated this to India. We are in dialogue with the government, it’s a friendly talk,” Gilon added.

    Prime Minister Narendra Modi was among the first world leaders to condemn the October 7 attack on Israel. While India hit out at Hamas for the terror act, it later clarified that no alternative to the two-state solution can bring peace to the region. 

    As the conflict entered the 19th day, Israel is gearing up for a protracted war with Hamas. It is constantly hitting potential Hamas targets in Gaza while the ground offensive has been delayed due to “tactical and strategic considerations”. googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display(‘div-gpt-ad-8052921-2’); });

    Israel Defense Forces (IDF)  spokesperson Lt Col Peter Lerner said on Wednesday that the objective is to destroy Hamas. “A vast majority of areas are safe in Israel, but Hamas may try and infiltrate. So, we will have to destroy Hamas in its entirety,” he said. Israel has roped in 3 lakh reservists for the ongoing war. The IDF’s priority is to locate and bring back the 222 hostages who have been held captive by Hamas. Four hostages have been released so far. 

    On Wednesday, Israel’s Ambassador to the UN, Gilad Erdan, said that they would deny visas to UN officials after a remark by Secretary General Antonio Guterres appeared to justify the Hamas attack. 
    Meanwhile, Gaza is running out of fuel and other essential items. Hospitals are low on fuel, which means if not replenished soon, there would be no scope for survival of patients in intensive care units. 

    Hezbollah huddle with Hamas, Islamic Jihad
    Senior officials of Hamas and Islamic Jihad have held talks with Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, the Lebanese group said on Wednesday. The talks focused on achieving “real victory” against Israel. Hezbollah and the Palestinian groups agreed to coordinate  Follow The New Indian Express channel on WhatsApp

  • Israel’s ambassador urges India to declare Hamas as a ‘terrorist organisation’

    Express News Service

    NEW DELHI: As the war between Israel and Hamas enters the 19th day, Israel says it hopes India, which has also been a victim of terrorist attacks, declares Hamas to be a terrorist organisation.

    “We have communicated this to India (that they should declare Hamas a terrorist organisation) after the attack on October 7th. We are in dialogue with the government, it’s a friendly talk,” said Israel’s Ambassador to India Naor Gilon.

    Israel has been very appreciative of the fact that Prime Minister Narendra Modi was amongst the first leaders to tweet against the Hamas attack.

    “Deeply shocked by the news of the terrorists attacks in Israel. Our thoughts and prayers are with the innocent victims and their families. We stand in solidarity with Israel at this difficult hour,” said PM Modi.

    Ambassador Gilon also said that the current attack on Israel was worse than 9/11.

    “If you compare the size of our country and its population, then the numbers that have died in this attack are really high for us,” Ambassador Gilon added.

    Meanwhile, retired Israeli Major General Amos Gilead said India can understand what Israel is going through as it has been witness to terrorist attacks like the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks. He also blamed Iran for being instrumental in funding and training Hamas.

    “We have been able to destroy a major part of the infrastructure that was created by Hamas. In addition, I must state that we cannot let fuel be offloaded in Gaza as it would be used by Hamas to exercise more military offences and not reach the local population,” said Maj General Gilead, adding that India knows what it means to be living in a troubled neighbourhood as it has to deal with Pakistan and China.

    “The attack on October 7th was strategic, unexpected, unfathomable. Vast majority of areas are safe in Israel, but Hamas may try and infiltrate so we will destroy Hamas in its entirety,” said Israeli Defence Force (IDF) spokesperson Lt Col Peter Lerner. Israel has recruited 300000 reservists to fight the war.

    Israel has reiterated that a ceasefire is not something they will consider at this stage as they have to destroy the enemy and the international community should be part of the solution and not the problem.

    The IDF wants to locate and bring back the 222 hostages that have been held captive by Hamas. Four hostages have been released so far.

    Meanwhile, Israel’s Ambassador to the UN, Gilad Erdan said that they would deny visas to UN officials after remarks by Secretary General Antonio Guterres that appeared to justify the Hamas attack. Follow The New Indian Express channel on WhatsApp

    NEW DELHI: As the war between Israel and Hamas enters the 19th day, Israel says it hopes India, which has also been a victim of terrorist attacks, declares Hamas to be a terrorist organisation.

    “We have communicated this to India (that they should declare Hamas a terrorist organisation) after the attack on October 7th. We are in dialogue with the government, it’s a friendly talk,” said Israel’s Ambassador to India Naor Gilon.

    Israel has been very appreciative of the fact that Prime Minister Narendra Modi was amongst the first leaders to tweet against the Hamas attack.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display(‘div-gpt-ad-8052921-2’); });

    “Deeply shocked by the news of the terrorists attacks in Israel. Our thoughts and prayers are with the innocent victims and their families. We stand in solidarity with Israel at this difficult hour,” said PM Modi.

    Ambassador Gilon also said that the current attack on Israel was worse than 9/11.

    “If you compare the size of our country and its population, then the numbers that have died in this attack are really high for us,” Ambassador Gilon added.

    Meanwhile, retired Israeli Major General Amos Gilead said India can understand what Israel is going through as it has been witness to terrorist attacks like the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks. He also blamed Iran for being instrumental in funding and training Hamas.

    “We have been able to destroy a major part of the infrastructure that was created by Hamas. In addition, I must state that we cannot let fuel be offloaded in Gaza as it would be used by Hamas to exercise more military offences and not reach the local population,” said Maj General Gilead, adding that India knows what it means to be living in a troubled neighbourhood as it has to deal with Pakistan and China.

    “The attack on October 7th was strategic, unexpected, unfathomable. Vast majority of areas are safe in Israel, but Hamas may try and infiltrate so we will destroy Hamas in its entirety,” said Israeli Defence Force (IDF) spokesperson Lt Col Peter Lerner. Israel has recruited 300000 reservists to fight the war.

    Israel has reiterated that a ceasefire is not something they will consider at this stage as they have to destroy the enemy and the international community should be part of the solution and not the problem.

    The IDF wants to locate and bring back the 222 hostages that have been held captive by Hamas. Four hostages have been released so far.

    Meanwhile, Israel’s Ambassador to the UN, Gilad Erdan said that they would deny visas to UN officials after remarks by Secretary General Antonio Guterres that appeared to justify the Hamas attack. Follow The New Indian Express channel on WhatsApp

  • India is influential country, knows challenge of terrorism: Israeli envoy on support amid Hamas attack

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: As Israel reels under the massive attacks by Hamas militants, Israeli ambassador Naor Gilon on Sunday said his country will need very strong support from India as it is an influential country and knows the challenge of terrorism.

    Describing the attacks by Hamas militants as totally unprovoked and unacceptable, Gilon said Israel will deal with the challenge on its own and punish the perpetrators.

    The attacks by Hamas militants from Gaza since Saturday killed more than 600 Israelis and injured over 2,000.

    Palestinian officials said retaliatory attacks by Israel left around 200 people dead in the Gaza Strip.

    Talking to reporters, the Israeli envoy alleged that Iran has a hand in the attacks and suggested that the country supplied weapons to Hamas.

    “It’s clear to us that Iran is involved with it. We know for sure about supplying of weapons and training,” he alleged.

    Gilon said his country will need the very strong support of “our Indian friends” and that “India is a very influential country in the world, as a country that knows terrorism and understands the crisis.” “It will be very important for us, to give us the ability to do what we need to do in order to make sure that Hamas will not be able to continue doing atrocities,” he said.

    Gilon said India’s support to Israel at this time is based on a deep understanding of terrorism rather than ignorance.

    “We have received huge support from India,” he said.

    “We expect all countries in the world to, first and foremost, condemn the unprovoked murder and kidnapping of hundreds of Israeli civilians, women, men, elderly, and children. This is unacceptable,” Gilon said.

    Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday expressed solidarity with Israel following the strikes by Hamas.

    Modi condemned it as “terrorist attacks”.

    “Deeply shocked by the news of terrorist attacks in Israel. Our thoughts and prayers are with the innocent victims and their families. We stand in solidarity with Israel at this difficult hour,” Modi said.

    To a question, the Israeli envoy said there is no time for mediation and now is time to take action against terror.

    NEW DELHI: As Israel reels under the massive attacks by Hamas militants, Israeli ambassador Naor Gilon on Sunday said his country will need very strong support from India as it is an influential country and knows the challenge of terrorism.

    Describing the attacks by Hamas militants as totally unprovoked and unacceptable, Gilon said Israel will deal with the challenge on its own and punish the perpetrators.

    The attacks by Hamas militants from Gaza since Saturday killed more than 600 Israelis and injured over 2,000.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display(‘div-gpt-ad-8052921-2’); });

    Palestinian officials said retaliatory attacks by Israel left around 200 people dead in the Gaza Strip.

    Talking to reporters, the Israeli envoy alleged that Iran has a hand in the attacks and suggested that the country supplied weapons to Hamas.

    “It’s clear to us that Iran is involved with it. We know for sure about supplying of weapons and training,” he alleged.

    Gilon said his country will need the very strong support of “our Indian friends” and that “India is a very influential country in the world, as a country that knows terrorism and understands the crisis.” “It will be very important for us, to give us the ability to do what we need to do in order to make sure that Hamas will not be able to continue doing atrocities,” he said.

    Gilon said India’s support to Israel at this time is based on a deep understanding of terrorism rather than ignorance.

    “We have received huge support from India,” he said.

    “We expect all countries in the world to, first and foremost, condemn the unprovoked murder and kidnapping of hundreds of Israeli civilians, women, men, elderly, and children. This is unacceptable,” Gilon said.

    Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday expressed solidarity with Israel following the strikes by Hamas.

    Modi condemned it as “terrorist attacks”.

    “Deeply shocked by the news of terrorist attacks in Israel. Our thoughts and prayers are with the innocent victims and their families. We stand in solidarity with Israel at this difficult hour,” Modi said.

    To a question, the Israeli envoy said there is no time for mediation and now is time to take action against terror.

  • Pegasus spyware issue India’s internal matter: Israeli envoy

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: Israel does not allow companies like NSO to sell their products to non-governmental actors, newly-appointed Israeli Ambassador to India Naor Gilon said on Thursday while describing the row over the alleged use of the firm’s spyware Pegasus in India as an internal matter of the country.

    His comments at a press conference came a day after the Supreme Court appointed a three-member committee to investigate the alleged use of Pegasus software to snoop on Indian citizens including journalists, activists and politicians.

    “I will not go into more details. NSA (Group) is a private Israeli company. Every export of NSO or such companies needs an export licence of the Israeli government. We grant this export licence only for exporting to governments,” he said.

    “This is the only main requirement. Under the requirements, they cannot sell it to non-governmental actors. What’s happening here in India is an internal thing for India and I would rather not go into your internal matters,” Gilon said.

    He was replying to questions over allegations of unauthorised surveillance using NSO Group’s spyware Pegasus and whether the Indian government contacted Israel over the issue.

    An international investigative consortium had claimed that many Indian ministers, politicians, activists, businessmen and journalists were potentially targeted by the NSO Group’s phone hacking software.

    The Supreme Court has set up a three-member independent expert panel to probe the alleged use of Pegasus for targeted surveillance in India, observing the state cannot get a “free pass” every time the spectre of national security is raised.

    Asked about the new quadrilateral grouping comprising India, Israel, the US and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), the envoy said it is focused on cooperation in areas of the economy, trade, infrastructure and technology among others and that there is “no military element” to it.

    When referred to India’s close ties with Iran and whether it will impact the cooperation under the grouping, he said it is to promote something positive and not to create something negative against anyone.

    “Our cooperation is to promote something positive, it is not to create something negative against someone else,” he said.

    “We are very much aware that India has its own interests when it comes to Afghanistan and Iran. I think that in discussions between countries, especially between friends, each country puts forward its own concerns and each country has its own interests, and then you see over time how it circles down, how it comes out,” the envoy said.

    At the same time, he said the biggest threat Israel has been facing is from Iran, alleging that the country has been a source of instability in the Gulf region.

    Gilon said Israel is keen to expand its cooperation with India in areas of economy and trade and said the proposed free trade agreement between the two sides is expected to increase the volume of economic engagement.

    He said the FTA is expected to be finalised by June next year.

    The envoy also said Israel is cooperating with Indian agencies probing the bombing outside the Israeli embassy in the national capital earlier this year.

    “We don’t know yet the identity of the perpetrators. It is an ongoing investigation. I hope we will get to them as soon as possible,” he said.

    The envoy said Israel’s cooperation with India in areas of agriculture, water and irrigation sharing is on an upswing.

    External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar paid a visit to Israel this month during which he held talks with Israel’s top leadership to further expand the strategic ties between the two countries.