Far-right Israeli finance minister Bezalel Smotrich, who is facing sanctions for incitement, human rights violations in Gaza and remarks justifying starving its population, was welcomed in India on Sunday with no explanation from New Delhi despite its recent expressions of concern over the Gaza humanitarian crisis and stated support for a two-state solution.
He signed a Bilateral Investment Agreement (BIA) with Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.
Smotrich’s visit comes at a time when he remains one of the most controversial figures in Israel’s ruling coalition, and while he has been condemned internationally for his extremist statements, the Indian government has chosen not to comment on the reasons for hosting him even as New Delhi continues to voice concern over the humanitarian disaster in Gaza and reiterates support for a two-state solution.
Several Western countries, including the UK, Australia, Canada, New Zealand and Norwa,y imposed sanctions on Smotrich and Israel’s national security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir in June, accusing them of incitement and violations of human rights, while Slovenia went a step further in July by declaring both persona non grata and the Netherlands enforced entry bans citing their rhetoric as supportive of ethnic cleansing.
France, Germany, the UK and the European Union had also condemned Smotrich earlier this month after he suggested that starving Gaza’s population might be justifiable as leverage for the release of Israeli hostages.
Despite this, Smotrich has continued to push controversial projects, including reviving the E1 settlement plan in the West Bank last month, which critics argue would effectively eliminate the possibility of a Palestinian state, while he also claimed that maps were being prepared to annexe up to 82 per cent of the territory, leaving Palestinians confined to small, disconnected population centres.
Against this backdrop, the signing of the Bilateral Investment Agreement in New Delhi underscores the Modi government’s close alignment with Tel Aviv, as India has largely refrained from directly criticising Israel for its invasion of Gaza or for incidents such as the recent killing of journalists, choosing instead to maintain cooperation on trade, defence and technology.
According to the finance ministry, the agreement provides a minimum standard of treatment to investors, safeguards against expropriation, guarantees transparency requirements, ensures free transfer of funds, sets out compensation for losses and establishes an independent dispute-resolution mechanism through arbitration, and the deal is being projected as a tool to promote the growth of trade and mutual investment between the two countries.