Opposition parties have criticised India's signing of a bilateral trade agreement with Israel on Monday, citing Israel's murderous attack on Gaza, which has killed over 64,000 Palestinians, more than half of them are women and children.
AIMIM president Asaduddin Owaisi called the bilateral investment pact signed by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and her Israeli counterpart Bezalel Smotrich "despicable," writing on X, "It is despicable that the Modi govt has signed a Bilateral Investment Treaty with Israel at a time when Israel is overseeing genocide, ethnic cleansing & famine of Gaza."
According to Owaisi, the far-right minister is facing arrest warrant petitions from the International Criminal Court, TNIE reported.
"The person seated next to @nsitharaman believes that it is “just and moral” to starve Gazans. Arrest warrant applications against him are pending with the ICC. Supporting a genocidal government cannot be in national interest," Owaisi said.
Smotrich is known for making genocidal remarks against Palestinians during Israel's invasion of Gaza. His travel to India comes as he faces sanctions from the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and Norway for "repeated incitement of violence against Palestinian civilians."
The CPI(M) condemned Smotrich's visit, calling it "shameful" that the government is inviting him while people are being killed in Gaza every day. "The Politburo of the CPI(M) condemns the visit of Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich to India. He led an Israeli delegation to sign a bilateral investment agreement with the Indian government," the CPIM said in a statement.
According to the report, Smotrich is a member of a far-right, racist political party, the chief supporter in Benjamin Netanyahu's cabinet for occupying the Gaza Strip by forcibly removing Palestinians, and the driving force behind efforts to annexe the occupied West Bank to Israel.
"As a result of his expansionist policies involving the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians, several countries have banned his entry and some of them have also imposed other sanctions. Among these countries are the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, Norway, the Netherlands, Slovenia and New Zealand," the CPI(M) said.
"It is shameful that the (Narendra) Modi government has hosted such a person and signed agreements with the Israeli government at a time when the people of Gaza are being massacred every day," it said.
"This episode highlights the deep and entrenched ties that the Modi government has forged with the Netanyahu government, and its complicity in the ongoing horrific genocide in Gaza," it added.
The CPI(M) Politburo requested that the Indian government suspend all military, security, and economic cooperation with Israel until the latter agrees to an immediate cease-fire and works towards a just and peaceful resolution of the Palestinian cause.
India's bilateral pact with Israel comes as numerous countries have pledged to reassess economic agreements with Tel Aviv in light of its ongoing war in Gaza. On Monday, Spain imposed an arms embargo on Israel and a travel ban on anyone actively implicated in the genocidal war.