Palestinians and Israelis: Friends of India

Both are friends, though they show it differently:

From Ma'an:

The Indian nation was and will remain loyal and friendly to Palestinians since the days of Mahatma Gandhi's revolutionary period. The great man’s daughter Indira Gandhi then her son the President Rajiv Gandhi and even to this very moment the Palestinian people have felt the support of India. We will not forget Indian strength as Palestine stands up against Israel.

The generous aid to the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) and the many scholarships offered to Palestinian students from India has endeared to us a nation whose history is not so different than our own. Palestine is a nation suffering from a siege, an occupation and constant aggression and we stand alongside India as forces act against the safety of its people.

From The Jerusalem Post:

Barak offered Israel's help in an advisory capacity and in any other way it could be of assistance, be it humanitarian or professional.

The two countries have close defense ties. India is the Israeli defense establishment's top customer in annual defense exports and has bought more than $5 billion worth of Israeli equipment since 2002. Two weeks ago, a senior Indian defense delegation, led by Defense Secretary Vijay Singh, visited Israel to discuss the purchase of AWACS planes and missiles from Israel Aerospace Industries.

Israel is also training Indian military units. In September, Maj.-Gen. Avi Mizrahi, OC Ground Forces Command, paid an unscheduled visit to the disputed state of Kashmir to get a close look at the challenges India faced in its fight against Islamic insurgents. Mizrahi was in India for three days of meetings with the country's military brass and to discuss a training plan the IDF is currently drafting.

Under the proposed agreement, the IDF will send highly-trained commandos to provide instruction in counter-terror, urban warfare and anti-guerrilla tactics.

As Elder of Ziyon points out, the Palestinians are not missing out on an opportunity to politicize the situation--an odd situation where Muslim terrorists commisserate with the victims of other Muslim terrorists. But other than commisseration--and accepting aid from India--the Palestinians (who never missed a chance to side with Saddam Hussein) have nothing to offer.

While the Palestinians offer politics, Israel offers both military and humanitarian aid.

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