INDIA-ISRAEL

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Context

Tammy Ben-Haim the Consul General of Israel on her recent visit to India maintained that the Israel-Palestine issue does not diminish or negate the India-Israel
She emphasized Abraham Accords to resolve the issue concerning Palestine.

Abraham Accords

The Abraham Accords are a joint statement made between Israel, the United States and the United Arab Emirates on August 13, 2020.
Israel signed normalization agreements with four Arab countries – the UAE, Bahrain, Morocco and Sudan and thus maintain peace in the region and this will help resolve Palestine issues.

Israel-Palestine Issues

1947-48	the UN adopts Resolution 181, a partition plan for Palestine into separate Jewish and Arab states which Palestine rejects. The state of Israel is created.
1949	the first Arab-Israeli war and Israel seizes more land than agreed in armistices. Gaza strip is created.
1967	a 6-day war and Israel occupy the rest of Palestine including the West Bank, Gaza Strip, Golan Heights (Syria), and Sinai (Egypt). UNSC calls on Israel to withdraw from these areas.
1978	Egypt and Israel sign the Camp David accords.
1993	a plan to implement a two-state solution as part of the Oslo Accords is agreed upon, leading to the establishment of the Palestinian Authority (PA).
2000	Camp David II Summit where Israel and PLO renew status negotiations.
2002	2^nd Intifada: Israel re-occupies Palestinian cities in West Bank.
2005	Israel agrees to withdraw from Gaza but maintains control of airspace and some imports/exports.
2008	Israel invades Gaza in Operation Cast Lead
2014	Operation Protective Edge Israel invades Gaza again.

India-Israel Relations

Israel and India established diplomatic relations on the 29th of January 1992.
The two countries have an extensive economic, military, and strategic relationship.
Political relations:
- Political ties between the two countries are friendly.
- Prime Minister Modi undertook a historic first-ever visit by an Indian PM to Israel from 4-6 July 2017, during which the relationship was upgraded to a strategic level.
Economic and Commercial Relations
- India is Israel's third-largest trade partner in Asia.
- Major exports from India to Israel include precious stones and metals, chemical products, textiles etc.
- Major imports by India from Israel include precious stones and metals, chemicals and mineral products, base metals and machinery and transport equipment.
- Potash is a major item of Israel’s exports to India.
Cooperation in agriculture
- Under a comprehensive Work Plan for cooperation in agriculture signed on 10 May 2006, bilateral projects are implemented through Centres of Excellence.
- India has benefited from Israeli expertise and technologies in horticulture mechanization, protected cultivation, orchard and canopy management, nursery management, micro-irrigation and post-harvest management, particularly in Haryana and Maharashtra.
- Israeli drip irrigation technologies and products are now widely used in India.
Defence relations
- India is the largest buyer of Israeli military equipment and Israel is the second-largest supplier of military equipment to India after Russia.
- Military and strategic ties between the two nations extend to intelligence-sharing on terrorist groups and joint military training.
Indian Community
- There are approximately 85,000 Jews of Indian origin in Israel (with at least one Indian parent), who are all Israeli passport holders.

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