The United Kingdom, France, Australia, New Zealand, Canada and Norway had already banned the entry of Bezalel Smotrich, Israel’s far-right finance minister, who had advocated the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians in Gaza and the annexation of the occupied West Bank.
asserted
who → ban → Bank
But in September 2025, as the European Union was planning bloc-wide sanctions against him and his fellow far-right colleague Itamar Ben-Gvir that it would eventually announce late that month, Smotrich was welcomed with garlands and a multi-city trip to India.
asserted
Smotrich → plan → India
In New Delhi, he signed a trade deal; in Mumbai, he visited the stock exchange; and in Gujarat – the home state of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi – he travelled to a new investment hub.
asserted
he → sign → hub
As Israel was conducting its genocidal war on Gaza, bombing and killing dozens on the very days he was visiting India, New Delhi was ready to expand business with Israel like never before.
asserted
Delhi → conduct → Israel
India’s position has shifted firmly since 2014, when Modi and his Hindu majoritarian Bharatiya Janata Party came to power.
asserted
Modi → shift → power
But analysts say the optics of Smotrich’s visit underlined something even more dramatic: At a time when even Europe, traditionally seen as backing Israel, has veered away from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government, the genocidal war on Gaza appears to have escalated India’s embrace of Israel.
asserted
war → say → Israel
In February this year, Modi visited Israel as Netanyahu – who faces an arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court over war crimes carried out in Gaza – faced growing isolation in the international arena.
asserted
who → visit → arena
You are a brother,” Netanyahu told Modi when both leaders addressed the Israeli parliament in Jerusalem.
asserted
leaders → tell → Jerusalem
How October 7 attack changed tones
asserted
attack → change → tones
Three years of Israeli attacks have killed at least 74,000 Palestinians, including at least 21,000 children.
asserted
years → kill → children
Historically, India has argued that diplomacy and dialogue are the way forward to resolve conflicts – whether between Russia and Ukraine, the US and Iran, or Israel and Palestine.
asserted
diplomacy → argue → Russia
New Delhi has maintained that war doesn’t solve anything.
asserted
war → maintain → anything
But investigations by Al Jazeera and other reporting have revealed that New Delhi exported weapons to Israel during the ongoing genocidal war on Gaza.
asserted
Delhi → reveal → Gaza
Meanwhile, under Modi, India has become Israel’s largest weapons buyer.
asserted
India → become → Modi
Just hours after the Hamas-led attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, India’s Modi unequivocally condemned the “terrorist attack”, adding that he was “deeply shocked”.
asserted
he → lead → attack
When he visited Israel in February this year, Modi referred to the Mumbai attacks in 2008, carried out by Pakistani fighters, which New Delhi has blamed on the Pakistani government.
asserted
Delhi → visit → government
“Like you, we have a consistent and uncompromising policy of zero tolerance for terrorism with no double standards,” Modi said.
asserted
Modi → have → standards
Analysts believe that the framing of Israel as a country under attack has helped Modi justify pushing India closer to it.
asserted
Modi → believe → it
For decades, much of the politics of Modi’s BJP “has hovered around Islamist expansionism or Islamic terrorism”, said Rasheed Kidwai, a political analyst in New Delhi.
asserted
Kidwai → hover → Delhi
“So it helps [in relationship with Israel],” Kidwai said, pointing to the link between Modi’s Israel policy and his domestic politics.
asserted
Kidwai → help → policy
“Take this relationship as an extension of the domestic narrative that one sees in India.”
asserted
one → take → India
The Indian Hindu right has long supported the ideology of Zionism, analysts note.
asserted
analysts → support → Zionism
Modi’s BJP has roots in a philosophy, Hindutva, which ultimately seeks to transform India into a Hindu nation and a natural homeland for Hindus anywhere in the world – similar to Israel’s view of itself as a Jewish homeland.
asserted
which → have → homeland
Since the October 7 attacks on Israel, Kidwai noted, “the anti-Muslim sentiments fill in that block in India.”
asserted
sentiments → note → India
This feeling is, of course, coupled with “pragmatism in New Delhi because Israel is a potent international player”.
asserted
Israel → couple → Delhi
Navdeep Suri, a former Indian diplomat who served as ambassador to Egypt and the United Arab Emirates, told Al Jazeera that people-to-people ties are also a central pillar of the India-Israel relationship, “particularly within a section of Indian society that has strong admiration for the muscular policy that Israel adopts”.
asserted
Israel → serve → that
Time and again, there have been calls from within Indian right-wing echelons for Modi to adopt more Israel-like policies, from clampdowns in Indian-administered Kashmir to attacking neighbouring Pakistan.
asserted
Modi → adopt → Pakistan
Suri noted that a shift towards Israel predates the ongoing genocidal war in Gaza.
asserted
shift → note → Gaza
“Under PM Modi, a relationship that was largely covert or under the carpet has become a much more open relationship,” the former Indian diplomat said.
asserted
diplomat → become → carpet
“There has been a recognition in Delhi that Israel has been a very strong defence and intelligence partner,” he told Al Jazeera, referring to another pillar of the bilateral relationship.
asserted
he → tell → relationship
“There’s a genuine convergence when it comes to the perceptions on security.
asserted
it → ’ → security
India ‘should take principled positions’
asserted
India → take → positions
Even several of Israel’s closest European allies have moved from criticism of the genocidal war on Gaza and expansive illegal settlements in the occupied West Bank to concrete measures.
asserted
several → move → measures
At least 11 European countries and Canada have imposed trade measures against products from illegal Israeli settlements.
asserted
countries → impose → settlements
Many have imposed sanctions on settlers and networks accused of conducting pogroms against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, as well as on ministers like Smotrich and Ben-Gvir.
asserted
Many → impose → Smotrich
India, for its part, has avoided anything more than homilies and mild opposition to war and West Bank attacks.
asserted
India → avoid → war
Diplomatically, New Delhi still backs a two-state solution and has called for aid access and peace in the region.
asserted
Delhi → back → region
Suri, the former Indian diplomat who served in the Middle East, said New Delhi “should be able to take more principled positions on these things”.
asserted
Delhi → serve → things
However, from his experience in office, Suri added, “there is such a close alignment at the political levels between the governments in Israel and India that there is a reluctance [in India] to criticise Israel.
asserted
Suri → add → Israel
“That reluctance manifests in various aspects,” Suri explained to Al Jazeera.
asserted
Suri → manifest → Jazeera
…and 13 more, not listed.
The Aporia
