Ex-Indian Ambassador to Israel Suggests India to Supply Military Support to Israel

Former Israeli Ambassador Daniel Carmon suggests India may be supplying military aid to Israel, possibly reciprocating Israel's support during the 1999 Kargil War. Reports indicate India has sent drones and munitions, though the Indian government has neither confirmed nor denied these claims.

This idea was expressed by the former Israeli Ambassador to India Daniel Carmon in an interview given to the Israeli newspaper Ynetnews where he said that India might be transferring military equipment to Israel through the nature of the support which Israel has given to India during the Kargil war of 1999 is not known. 

“People here never forget that Israel was supporting the Indians during Kargil war,” Carmon added. Israel was one of the very few countries that supported them and provided them with weapons The Indians do not forget this and may now be equalizing the scores. 

These comments arose because they received information that India supplies drones and artillery shells to Israel during the seven and half months’ war between the two parties. 

Regarding this, the Ynetnews report had referred to a May event where Spain refused a certain cargo ship known as the Marianne Danica to anchor at Cartagena. As for the cause of the accident, some sources claimed that the ship was carrying 27 tonnes of ammunition for the IDF. 

In February there were reports that India had supplied Hermes 900 drones to Israel built at Hyderabad. The drones were reported to have been supplied to the Indian military during its war with Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah on the Lebanon border because the Indian military lacked adequate equipment. 

These drones are manufactured at Hyderabad where a joint venture between Elbit Systems of Israel and Adani Group operates. Ynetnews assumes that the grant of these drones was possibly okayed at the highest level in India because Israel is recognized globally as one of the biggest suppliers of military hardware to India. 

This news has been highlighted in the Arab media channeles and especially Iran’s IRNA news agency on the alleged weapons transfer. 

However, the Indian government has not reacted to independently confirm or deny the accusations of supplying arms to Israel. The official Indian stance remains unchanged on the issue and supports a political resolution of the Gaza scenario and the creation of a Palestinian state as a part of the final status of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. 

Also Read: Aid convoy of UN denied to enter the northern Gaza strip due to escalated humanitarian crises

In this case, as the situation develops, there are questions raised relating to the implications of such a military aid to Indian foreign policy in the Middle East and the stand it would take on the Israeli Palestine conflict.