'Seriously': Former Israeli envoy 'shocked'; Shashi Tharoor clarifies statement on Hamas
Shashi Tharoor clarified that his statement on Hamas was India's stand on Hamas and he condemns Hamas' attack on Israel.
Congress MP Shashi Tharoor clarified his statement on Hamas as it created a row on social media projecting an impression that Tharoor was sshying away from calling Hamas a 'terrorist' group. As Israel's former ambassador to India Daniel Carmon slammed the statement and questioned Tharoor, the Congress MP clarified that he only stated India's official position that India has never designated Hamas as a terrorist organisation. "All I said was that India has not issued such a designation, though others have. Undoubtedly Hamas conducted terrorist acts, which I roundly condemned," Tharoor replied to Corman praying for Israel's peace and safety.
"Seriously, @ShashiTharoor,can you not?After decades of terror against my people,challenging the very Palestinian Authority,especially after this week’s savage slaughter of over a thousand peaceful human beings,can you not label Hamas as terrorists? Frankly,I am shocked," Carmon tweeted sharing a clip of Tharoor interview with a television channel.
"The terrorist organisation label is one to be very careful not to follow other country's leads in this matter. The US considers Hamas a terrorist organisation, so does Israel. India has not made any such classification and I am going to stick to the Indian position," Tharoor said in the television interview.
"Don’t be misled by crude headlines seeking to distort my words, @danielocarmon. I feel for you and other friends in Israel at this difficult time, and hope & pray for your continued safety," Tharoor tweeted as his clip went viral and drew a sharp response from Israel's former ambassador to India.
'PM Modi's statement incomplete...': What Shashi Tharoor said on Israel-Hamas conflict
Shashi Tharoor said Hamas' attack on Israel should be condemned but the larger issue at stake should not be missed either. Tharoor said the PM's statement expressing solidarity with Israel was incomplete as there was no mention of the 'reason behind all of this'. "While we understood the Prime Minister's standing up for Israel and showing solidarity at this time of great grief and this horror..., at the same time we felt that his statement was incomplete," Tharoor said.
"The entire situation has been provoked by the surprise attack by Hamas during a national holiday in Israel. It was done in the cruellest possible way...It was a terror operation. They killed innocent civilians, children, elderly people, youths attending a music festival. It was almost impossible to accept any justification of what Hamas did and I certainly join in on the condemnation of the terrorist act," Tharoor added.
Shashi Tharoor condemned Israel Prime Minister Netanyahu's firm hand against Palestinians and said his government made no compromise towards the Palestinians.
What is Congress's stand on the Israel-Palestine issue?
The Congress on Sunday condemned the brutal attacks on the people of Israel and said the party always believed that the legitimate aspirations of the people pf Palestine must be fulfilled through dialogues. A day after, The Congress in its statement called for an immediate ceasefire and said it always supported the rights of the Palestinian people to land, self-government and to live with dignity and respect.
