Israel's deputy chief of mission Yahel Vilan visited the BJP headquarters in New Delhi on Friday, three days before Rajya Sabha is to debate the violence in Gaza and West Bank.
The government, which was reluctant to debate the issue in Parliament, has given in to the Opposition pressure and agreed for a short duration discussion after question hour in the Upper House on Monday.
In his meeting with party leaders, including JP Nadda and Ram Madhav, Vilan is understood to have argued the Israeli case claiming that there was unprovoked violence from Hamas-controlled Gaza.
According to BJP sources, the party leaders told the Israeli diplomat that they were keeping a close eye on the developments in West Asia and were concerned about it. They also conveyed to him that the Indian parliamentarians were keen on discussing the issue in the House.
The BJP leaders said the Indian government was committed to peace in the region and appealed to Israel to find ways of finding a solution to the conflict. Meanwhile, the Israeli embassy canceled its iftar scheduled at a five star hotel here on Thursday.
The government's reservation to debate the Israel issue in the House stems from the awareness that India has national interests in West Asia which includes the Arab countries and Israel. Besides, the government is of the view that getting embroiled in a conflict between two countries may not be in the interests of the country. The government did not want to commit itself to a statement which could alienate Israel as well as the Arabs. There is acknowledgement that India could need the help of Saudi Arabia in freeing the indian workers stranded in Iraq. On the other hand, the India-Israel defence relations are considered crucial.
While a debate was listed in Rajya Sabha on "unprecedented spurt in violence in Gaza and West Bank area of Palestine causing death of scores of civilians" last week, external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj said India has friendly relations with both the countries -- Israel and Palestine -- and discourteous reference can impact relations with them. However, the Opposition has been up in arms insisting on the discussion.
In Lok Sabha on Friday morning, PDP jleader Mehbooba Mufti demanded a debate on the Gaza violence but when Speaker Sumitra Mahajan denied permission saying there was no notice, she staged a walk out along with her party colleague Tariq Hameed Karra.
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