Owaisi criticises India’s bilateral investment treaty with Israel

Hyderabad parliamentarian Asaduddin Owaisi on Tuesday criticised the Union government for signing a bilateral investment treaty with Israel and said that the country has been ‘overseeing genocide, ethnic cleansing and famine of Gaza’.

Mr. Owaisi, who is the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen president, took objection to the presence of Bezalel Smotrich and maintained that the Israeli minister was of the opinion that it was ‘just and moral to starve Gazans’.

“Arrest warrant applications against him are pending with the ICC. Supporting a genocidal government cannot be in national interest,” Mr Owaisi posted on X.

The Students Islamic Organisation, an affiliate of the Jamaat-e-Islami Hind, condemned the presence of Mr. Smotrich. “By welcoming Israel’s far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, sanctioned by multiple countries for his genocidal incitement against Palestinians, the BJP government has chosen to side with an apartheid regime killing more than 64,500 Palestinians and wounding over 163,000 since October 2023. At a time when the world is calling for sanctions and accountability for war crimes in Gaza, India’s govt have shamefully deepened economic ties with the oppressor,” a statement read.