India defends arms supplies to Israel, citing 'national interest'

India has cited "national interests" and commitments to "various regimes" in defending arms supplies to Israel, which has been carrying out genocide of Palestinians in besieged Gaza for the last 428 days.

"The issue of India's exports, including India's exports of anything which directly or indirectly has any military implications, is guided by our national interest and by our commitments to various regimes," Foreign Minister S Jaishankar said in response to a question in Parliament on Friday.

Indian parliamentarian John Brittas asked if it is a fact that Palestine's minister of state in the foreign office met Indian ambassador Renu Yadav to request New Delhi reconsider arms sales to Israel because of their use against Palestine civilians.

"We are very responsible members of various international regimes, including the Wassenaar arrangement. We have an export control and licensing process. And we take decisions regarding any export which is based on what we consider to be our national interest," Jaishankar said.

He said, "Israel is a country in which we have a strong record of cooperation in national security" and added, "It is also a country that has stood by us at different moments when our national security was under threat."

"So, when we take any decision we will bear in mind, obviously, the larger circumstances but we will definitely be driven by our national interest in this matter," he said.

In September, India's Supreme Court dismissed a public interest litigation that sought an order for the federal government to halt licenses to Indian firms exporting arms to Israel.

While the government has not issued any public statement regarding arms supplies to Israel, Al Jazeera claimed in an investigation that New Delhi was supplying weapons to Tel Aviv.

In its damning November report, Middle East Eye reported that Israeli army is using an AI weapons system in Gaza co-produced by an Indian defence company "that turns machine guns and assault rifles into computerised killing machines."

MEE said that Israeli forces have been using the Arbel weapons system "that enhances machine guns and assault weapons — such as the Israeli-produced Tavor, Carmel and Negev — into a weapon that uses algorithms to boost soldiers chances of hitting targets more accurately and efficiently."

Genocide continues

Israel has launched a genocidal war on Gaza that has killed more than 44,600 people, mostly women and children, since October 7, 2023.

The second year of genocide in Gaza has drawn growing international condemnation, with officials and institutions labeling the attacks and the blocking of aid deliveries as a deliberate attempt to destroy a population.

United Nations reports that 1.9 million out of Gaza's 2.3 million residents have been displaced, with Israeli actions causing an unprecedented level of forced displacement.

On December 5, Amnesty International accused Israel of committing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza.

This follows earlier conclusions by Francesca Albanese, the United Nations special rapporteur on Palestine, who stated that Israel's actions in Gaza amount to genocide.

On January 26, the International Court of Justice, the UN's World Court, ruled that Palestinians are "at risk of" genocide.