Justin Joseph
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Israel sorry for dragging India into flotilla row
NEW DELHI: Fearing a major outrage in India over remarks made by its foreign ministry in the context of the attack on the Gaza aid flotilla, Israel on Wednesday attributed the statement bracketing India with Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iraq to a "human error" and said it was "regrettable". Israel's envoy to India Mark Sofer said the issue had been taken up to ensure that no misunderstanding was caused by it.
India had earlier strongly condemned the Israeli strikes saying there could not be any justification for such indiscriminate use of force. The Israeli foreign ministry then issued a statement saying that foreign minister Avigdor Lieberman had reminded the UN Secretary General that "in the past month alone, 500 people were killed in various incidents in Thailand, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraq and India, while the international community remained silent and passive, and generally ignored the occurrences, while Israel is condemned for unmistakably defensive actions".
Sofer said the name of India had been removed from the speech of his foreign minister and that "Israel stands hook, line and sinker behind India in its struggle in South Asia".
"We hold nothing against friendly countries like India for criticising us.
The mention of India is a human error. However, there are other nations which support terror and what we have said holds true in their case," said another official.
A statement by the Israeli embassy said Israel was justified under international law in acting against the flotilla. "The soldiers who boarded the vessels did not carry arms openly, but were met with a violent ambush. Two soldiers were shot, one was stabbed and others were injured as they were set upon with clubs, knives, axes and heavy objects. They were in mortal danger and had to act accordingly in self-defence," it said.
A maritime blockade is currently in effect off the coast of Gaza. According to Israel, the blockade has been imposed as Israel is currently in a state of armed conflict with the Hamas regime that controls Gaza, which has repeatedly, as Israel claims, bombed civilian targets in Israel with weapons that have been smuggled into Gaza via the sea. "Any vessel that violates or attempts to violate a maritime blockade may be captured or even attacked under international law," said the statement.
In an emergency session on Tuesday, the UN Security Council called for an investigation into Israel's deadly commando raid on ships taking humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip on Monday, condemning the act that resulted in the loss of at least nine lives.
"The Security Council resolution is unacceptable and contributes nothing to the promotion of peace and stability in the Middle East," Lieberman said.
Israel sorry for dragging India into flotilla row - India - The Times of India
NEW DELHI: Fearing a major outrage in India over remarks made by its foreign ministry in the context of the attack on the Gaza aid flotilla, Israel on Wednesday attributed the statement bracketing India with Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iraq to a "human error" and said it was "regrettable". Israel's envoy to India Mark Sofer said the issue had been taken up to ensure that no misunderstanding was caused by it.
India had earlier strongly condemned the Israeli strikes saying there could not be any justification for such indiscriminate use of force. The Israeli foreign ministry then issued a statement saying that foreign minister Avigdor Lieberman had reminded the UN Secretary General that "in the past month alone, 500 people were killed in various incidents in Thailand, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraq and India, while the international community remained silent and passive, and generally ignored the occurrences, while Israel is condemned for unmistakably defensive actions".
Sofer said the name of India had been removed from the speech of his foreign minister and that "Israel stands hook, line and sinker behind India in its struggle in South Asia".
"We hold nothing against friendly countries like India for criticising us.
The mention of India is a human error. However, there are other nations which support terror and what we have said holds true in their case," said another official.
A statement by the Israeli embassy said Israel was justified under international law in acting against the flotilla. "The soldiers who boarded the vessels did not carry arms openly, but were met with a violent ambush. Two soldiers were shot, one was stabbed and others were injured as they were set upon with clubs, knives, axes and heavy objects. They were in mortal danger and had to act accordingly in self-defence," it said.
A maritime blockade is currently in effect off the coast of Gaza. According to Israel, the blockade has been imposed as Israel is currently in a state of armed conflict with the Hamas regime that controls Gaza, which has repeatedly, as Israel claims, bombed civilian targets in Israel with weapons that have been smuggled into Gaza via the sea. "Any vessel that violates or attempts to violate a maritime blockade may be captured or even attacked under international law," said the statement.
In an emergency session on Tuesday, the UN Security Council called for an investigation into Israel's deadly commando raid on ships taking humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip on Monday, condemning the act that resulted in the loss of at least nine lives.
"The Security Council resolution is unacceptable and contributes nothing to the promotion of peace and stability in the Middle East," Lieberman said.
Israel sorry for dragging India into flotilla row - India - The Times of India
