India cites 'national interest' in defending arms sales to Israel

India cited "national interests" and commitments to various regimes in defending arms supplies to Israel.

"The issue of India's exports, including India's exports of anything which directly or indirectly has any military implications, is guided by our national interest and by our commitments to various regimes," Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar said in response to a question in parliament.

Indian parliamentarian John Brittas asked if it is a fact that Palestine's minister of state in the foreign office met Indian ambassador Renu Yadav to request New Delhi reconsider arms sales to Israel because of their use against Palestine civilians.

"We are very responsible members of various international regimes, including the Wassenaar arrangement. We have an export control and licensing process. And we take decisions regarding any export which is based on what we consider to be our national interest," Jaishankar said Thursday.

He said, "Israel is a country in which we have a strong record of cooperation in national security" and added, "It is also a country that has stood by us at different moments when our national security was under threat."

"So, when we take any decision we will bear in mind, obviously, the larger circumstances but we will definitely be driven by our national interest in this matter," he said.

Jaishankar also said India supports a two-state solution.

In September, India's Supreme Court dismissed a public interest litigation that sought an order for the federal government to halt licenses to Indian firms exporting arms to Israel.

While the government has not issued any public statement regarding arms supplies to Israel, the Al Jazeera Media Group claimed in an investigation that New Delhi was supplying weapons to Tel Aviv.

Israel has launched a genocidal war on the Gaza Strip that has killed more than 44,600 people, mostly women and children, since Oct. 7, 2023.

The second year of genocide in Gaza has drawn growing international condemnation, with officials and institutions labeling the attacks and the blocking of aid deliveries as a deliberate attempt to destroy a population.