India: Activists Dub Gantz’s Visit ’Shameless’, Resent Growing Military Ties with ‘Israel’

By Staff, Agencies

The growing proximity between India and the Zionist entity angered civil society and human rights activists in India, who have expressed indignation over ‘Israeli’ war minister’s visit to New Delhi.

Benny Gantz arrived in New Delhi on Thursday after his scheduled visit at the end of March was postponed due to “unavoidable reasons.”

Gantz and his Indian counterpart Rajnath Singh signed a military pact on Thursday and held discussions on expanding bilateral cooperation to mark 30 years of ties between them.

They expressed a desire to further develop military cooperation in a manner that harnesses Tel Aviv’s “technological advance and operational experience,” together with India’s “extraordinary development and production capabilities,” the joint statement said.

Gantz is accompanied by a delegation of military experts as well as representatives from the Zionist weapons industries, according to media reports.

Alarmed by the growing military cooperation between the two sides, activists in India have cautioned that it will have severe consequences for Palestinians as well as for India's minorities.

They described the visit as "shameless" and warned that the further entrenchment of the military-industrial complex between the two sides could not be ignored.

A report in the Middle East Eye quoted activist Amrit Wilson as saying that Gantz’s India visit “will no doubt lead to further purchases of weapons 'tried and tested' on Palestinians” and “to further militarize the Indian state which is killing Kashmiri Muslims and Dalits, Christians and Muslims in India.”

Wilson, who works with the South Asia Solidarity Group, said the visit was particularly damning given that there has been no resolution to the Pegasus spyware revelations that said the Narendra Modi government in New Delhi used software from ‘Israeli’ company NSO to hack the phones of around 300 Indians, including the leader of the opposition as well as activists and journalists.