In a recent development, an Uttar Pradesh Police constable has been suspended and a departmental enquiry has been initiated against him for sharing a post in support of Palestine on a social media platform.
The constable, identified as Suhail Ansari, is a resident of Bareilly and has been serving in the Lakhimpur Kheri district for the past few months, IANS reported.
Kheri DSP Sandeep Singh said the social media post of constable Suhail Ansari, seeking donations for Palestine, had gone viral. “The superintendent of police has taken cognizance of the matter. A probe was conducted in this regard and subsequently, constable Ansari was suspended on Monday,” he said.
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath had said that any activity which is against the stand taken by the Indian government on the issue “will not be tolerated”. Following Hamas’s attack on Israel, Prime Minister Narendra Modi made clear the Indian government’s position in the Palestine-Israel conflict.
Prime Minister Modi has so far expressed no concern for the Palestinians trapped in Gaza. “We stand in solidarity with Israel at this difficult hour,” he posted. “Our thoughts and prayers are with the innocent victims and their families.” After speaking with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Modi added, “India strongly and unequivocally condemns terrorism in all its forms and manifestations.”
Modi and his party’s unequivocal support for Israel comes out despite India’s contrasting stand regarding the conflict which reflects support for Palestine and the insistence on maintaining peaceful borders between the two nations. Indian Ministry of External Affairs in its first official statement on the war stated that it is a “universal obligation to observe international humanitarian law”, spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said at the briefing. He also reiterated India’s position on the wider Israeli-Palestinian conflict, calling for “direct negotiations” toward a “sovereign, independent, and viable state of Palestine living within secure and recognized borders, side by side, at peace with Israel.”
Hamas’s armed wing, the Qassam Brigades, launched an unprecedented attack on Israel on October 7 called Operation Al Aqsa Flood. This multi-pronged surprise attack included a barrage of rocket launches and infiltrations into Israel via land, sea, and air. In response, Israel cut water and electricity supplies to Gaza, further worsening living conditions in an area that has endured a crippling siege since 2007. Israeli authorities have also ordered more than 1 million Gazans in the northern Strip to evacuate to the southern region, raising concerns about the humanitarian crisis unfolding in the region.
The conflict has taken a devastating toll on the civilian population in the Gaza Strip, with the local Health Ministry reporting that the number of Palestinians killed in Israeli airstrikes has risen to 2,670, as of Sunday. Tragically, 750 of the deceased were children, and the number of wounded has surged to 9,600, according to the ministry.
Israel’s general death toll stands at 1,300, with more than 3,400 confirmed injured Israelis.
