Israel has once again urged India to recognise Palestinian group Hamas as a terror organisation. And India seems to be on the move. An official of the IDF says Hamas is a 'common enemy' of India and Israel.
"It will be a good thing if India designated Hamas as a terror group. India and Israel have a common enemy. It will be good to have a clear statement on who we face," the official added.
"Our request is that India must work hard to sanction and designate organisations such as Hamas as terrorist groups. Israel designated Lashkar-e-Taiba a few years ago. We would like to see a reciprocation of that from India."
India-Palestine relations
India designates 45 groups as terror organisations globally — but Hamas isn’t one of them. Naturally, Israel has a problem with this — especially given its growing security ties with New Delhi.
So, why did India not designate Hamas a terror group?
India and Palestine were both former British colonies navigating through the Cold War. Palestinian leadership chose non-alignment — a movement India led. That’s partly why New Delhi saw Palestine as a natural partner.
In 1974, India became the first non-Arab state to recognise Palestine.
India’s ties across the Gulf have also been significant. With one of the world’s largest Muslim populations, millions of Indians live and work in the Middle East — shaping both diplomacy and domestic politics.
A key player here is Iran, a longtime backer of Hamas. New Delhi relies on Iran’s Chabahar port as a gateway to the West, and harsh criticism of Hamas could jeopardise that relationship.
India didn’t establish full diplomatic ties with Israel until 1992, but relations have surged since. New Delhi’s military cooperation with Israel was even on display during Operation Sindoor, where India is believed to have used Israeli-origin Harop drones to strike Pakistan-based terror camps.
