New Delhi: Though Israel listed the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) as a terror outfit ahead of the 15th anniversary of the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks, India need not label Palestinian militant group Hamas with which the Jewish nation is at war similarly as a mark of returning the favour, an expert has said.
The Israeli Embassy here said Israel decided on its own to designate LeT as a terror outfit and India did not make any request for this. “To symbolise the marking of the 15th year of commemoration of the Mumbai terror attacks, the state of Israel has listed Lashkar-e-Taiba as a terror organization,” the Embassy said in a statement.
“Despite not being requested by the Government of India to do so, the state of Israel has formally completed all necessary procedures and has satisfied all required checks and regulations to the result of introducing Lashkar-e-Taiba into the Israeli list of illegal terror organisations.” Israel called LeT a “deadly and reprehensible terror organisation, responsible for the murder of hundreds of Indian civilians as well as others”.
According to R Dayakar, former Indian Ambassador to Iraq and Jordan who also served in the West Asia desk of the Ministry of External Affairs Ministry, the unsolicited gesture of Israel in declaring LeT a terrorist organization reflects the deep concern shared by Israel and India about terrorism, both being victims of terrorist brutalities from time to time.
“India should greatly appreciate the Israeli step,” Dayakar said. “However it does not immediately warrant any reciprocal gesture by India. Israel has several formidable non-state armed organs arrayed against it like Hezbollah, the Houthis and the Palestine Islamic Jihad in addition to Hamas. Unlike the Islamic State, there is no known evidence of these outfits, including Hamas, harbouring any intention to inflict harm on India," he added.
He said that Hamas’s sole and whole focus is on Israel and the Occupied Territories in Palestine. "It is unlikely to pay attention to any other matter because that would fritter its resources and also dent its maniacal position on Israel and Palestine. Declaring them officially as a terrorist organisation by India will only motivate them to include India in their radar,” he said.
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“Also, as a matter of policy, internal security is the concern of the Home Ministry which has to recommend any individual or organization for branding officially as terrorist based on their role in terrorist activities within the country.” Dayakar further said that diplomacy, geopolitics and international relations are not key determinants in such a decision.
This is however not to downplay Hamas’s massacre of unarmed men, women and children on October 7. “India conveyed its outrage within hours of the massacres and was among the handful of countries that abstained from voting on the UN resolutions for ceasefire that did not condemn the Hamas brutalities,” he pointed out.
According to the former diplomat, Israel's highly commendable step need not necessarily be responded with a like gesture. Other avenues will open up for India to return Israel’s goodwill gesture. “All in all, principles, prudence and pragmatism on balance suggest that it is better for India to refrain from declaring Hamas as a terrorist organisation at least for the time being when Israel itself is negotiating with it for release of hostages,” Dayakar added.
The attacks, which drew widespread global condemnation, began on November 26 and lasted until November 29, 2008. A total of 166 people, including several foreign nationals, died and more than 300 were injured. Six Jews were among those killed. All of them were killed at the Chabad House, a Jewish outreach centre in Mumbai.
Following Israel’s move, there have been speculations about whether Tel Aviv will expect New Delhi to take a reciprocal measure by designating Hamas as a terrorist organization. However, the fact of the matter is that New Delhi need not do so. Over 15,000 people on both sides have lost their lives in war between Israel and Hamas, the Palestinian militant outfit that is the de facto ruler of Gaza, one of the two Palestinian territories, the other being the West Bank.
Apart from Israel, the European Union, the US, the UK, Canada, Australia, Japan and Paraguay have designated Hamas as a terrorist organization. Hamas, an acronym of its official name, the Islamic Resistance Movement, is a Palestinian Sunni Islamist political and military organisation. During a meeting of the leaders of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa (BRICS) held on Tuesday to discuss the Israel-Hamas war, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said that while the immediate crisis was triggered by the “terrorist attack” carried out by Hamas on Israel on October 7, “subsequent developments have deepened our concern even more as we witness large scale civilian casualties and a humanitarian crisis”.
“We believe that the concerns of the Palestinian people must be addressed in a serious and sustainable manner,” Jaishankar said. “This can only happen with a two-State solution that is based on peaceful co-existence. We have been consistently supportive of international efforts towards this end.”
