India on Tuesday voted in favor of a resolution moved by Israel to keep Palestinian rights group Shahed out of UN institutions.
New Delhi: In what reiterates the close ties shared by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Israel PM Benjamin Netanyahu, India on Tuesday voted in favor of a resolution moved by Israel to bar Palestinian rights group Shahed being given observer status at United Nations institutions. In a development described as significant by Israeli diplomats, the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) rejected the request of the Palestinian-Lebanese organization Shahed to obtain the status of an observer organization in UN institutions.
“Thank you #India for standing with @IsraelinUN and rejecting the request of the terrorist organization “Shahed” to obtain the status of an observer in #UN. Together we will continue to act against terrorist organizations that intend to harm,” Maya Kadosh, deputy chief of mission, Israel Embassy in India tweeted. The development took place on June 6, however, it came to light only on June 11 after Kadosh’s tweet.
According to Israel’s stated position “Shahed is a Palestinian organization based in Lebanon that claims to deal with human rights and humanitarian issues, but in practice is an organization that Israel has declared a terrorist organization and in fact, operates as an arm of the Hamas terror organization in Lebanon”.
“The resolution, initiated by the Israeli delegation to the United Nations against the granting of status, was adopted by an overwhelming majority of the members of the UN Economic and Social Council,” Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement referring to Shahed as an organization that operates as the Lebanese arm of Hamas.
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