PM Narendra Modi to visit Jerusalem, says Palestine envoy

Prime MInister Narendra Modi (file photo)

A day after US President Donald Trump announced his plans to shift the US embassy from Tel Aviv in Israel to Jerusalem, Palestinian Ambassador to India, Adnan Abu Alhaijaa, said Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Jerusalem very soon.

Alhaijaa, speaking at a panel discussion on Rajya Sabha TV, also sought support from the “whole world” against the Trump administration’s decision. Without elaborating on the dates of Modi’s visit, Alhaijaa told Rajya Sabha TV: “I will announce here that PM Narendra Modi will visit Palestine.”

In July, Modi became the first Prime Minister of India to visit Israel but he stayed away from Jerusalem.

Earlier in the day, spokesperson for the External Affairs Ministry Raveesh Kumar said: “India’s position on Palestine is independent and consistent. It is shaped by our views and interests, and not determined by any third country.”

Alhaijaa’s remarks came on a day the UN Security Council convened an emergency meeting on Friday on the US government’s move to recognise Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.

Participating in a discussion on the channel, Alhaijaa said India has been supportive of the Palestinian cause and the two-state solution.

Speaking about the US government’s decision, he said he was looking for support from the whole world. “We are looking for a different body to look after the peace process. The announcement by Trump has resulted in withdrawal of the US to be a sponsor of the peace process,” he said, adding that the decision is a violation of international resolution.

He clarified that the state of Palestine without east Jerusalem will not exist and will not be accepted. “I think from the beginning, the United States brokered the peace process. They were supporting the Israeli issue. We have been negotiating with the Israel since 1994. They (US) have done nothing to bring real pressure (on) the Israelis.We have done everything to make peace in the area. I think the Israeli want the land and the peace at the same time,” he told RSTV.