‘We want to help rebuild Gaza’
Israel's Ambassador to India, Daniel Carmon holds a Bachelor's degree in International Relations from the Hebrew University in Jerusalem. In 1973 he joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Since then he has held a number of important positions. From 2005 to 2010, he served as Ambassador and Deputy Permanent Representative at Israel's Mission to the United Nations in New York. Prior to joining as Ambassador in Delhi, he served as Deputy Director General, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Head of MASHAV ~ Israel's Agency for International Development Cooperation. In an interview to SIMRAN SODHI, Mr Carmon spoke at length about the recent crisis in Gaza and how Israel is looking forward to working with the new government in India.
Now that the fighting between Israel and Palestine has come to an end, what do you think was achieved by this?
The terrorist capabilities of Hamas have been destroyed. The terror infrastructure that Hamas built to attack Israeli territory has been destroyed. The attempt of Hamas to provoke and continue terrorist activities has not been achieved and quiet has returned to our region. At the end of this month, indirect talks will begin. We want Gaza to be a region where people on both sides can live in peace and flourish, and where people can build a future and not build rockets.
Hamas has claimed victory at the end of the fighting. What is your reaction to their stand?
A terrorist organisation like Hamas would say so, in any case, regardless of the reality. I would be surprised if they did not say so. We are not interested in declaring victory or defeat; we are interested in bringing quiet to the region. A quiet that was breached for the third time in the last ten years by Hamas. We want to change the situation in Gaza, it should have been a demilitarised area, in which after the disengagement of Israel in 2005 from Gaza, it should have been an area of peace and calm. But because of Hamas and the help it receives in its supply from countries like Iran and other actors, it has become a terrorist entity. The aim was to bring back the political situation that was achieved between Israel and the Palestinians in 1995 and that has been breached by Hamas. It overthrew the Palestinian Authority violently. We want to help rebuild Gaza, because the people of Gaza who are uninvolved in terror deserve a better future, and bring back a continuous, sustainable quiet to the region.
Were you surprised by Hamas's ability to carry on attacks even after the fighting dragged on for weeks?
It is not a question of surprise or not. We used the necessary means to preempt the attacks against Israel. We have come to a stage where a ceasefire was decided upon. The same ceasefire that could have been and was in effect on the table before but Hamas did not agree to this. Hamas is responsible for the tragedies of Gaza but now we feel we should look to the future and to a Gaza where they can grow flowers and strawberries and not build rockets.
Israel has demanded that the militant groups in Gaza be demilitarised. How realistic is this demand?
I cannot tell you how realistic this is, but it is a very basic condition. Even the President of the Palestine Authority, Mahmoud Abbas, has said that terrorism and violence are not the means to achieve a political solution. We are dealing with terrorism, the Middle East and in fact, the world is dealing with terrorism. And it is clear that terrorists and terrorist organisations cannot be a part of the deal to manage peace and security. India, too, is very much aware of this because India too suffers from terrorism.
Is a two-state solution the answer to peace in the region?
It has been stated more than once that two states living side by side in peace and security describes what we should aspire to. But we are a long way from that objective so we have to start the walk and I hope we achieve this as soon as possible. In this equation, the two-state solution, Hamas does not want to take part. Hamas does not recognise Israel, it has not renounced violence and it has not abided by the agreements between Israel and the Palestine Authority ~ three conditions set not by Israel but by the international community to join the peace process, so it is not a partner in this equation.
Do you believe Hamas has links to the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS)?
Yes, but not necessarily in the operative sense. They do have a visionary link where both are guided by extreme religious ideologies and wish to set up an Islamic State. There are countries and there is a world order in existence but both Hamas and ISIS believe in killing people who do not agree with them.
You recently met Home Minister Rajnath Singh. Can you tell us what was discussed and how India and Israel plan to cooperate in areas like counter-terrorism?
The relations between India and Israel are very profound and touch upon a whole variety of issues. We are in the business of upgrading this relationship even more. In the last ten days, I have met ministers of the Cabinet and chief ministers of various states so that our relationship is with the Union and with different states. We are listening very carefully to the priorities of the government, we listened very carefully to the Independence Day speech given by Prime Minister Modi. We feel very welcome in India and the Israeli ear is more sensitive to where we can cooperate with India. When we listen to the Tricolour revolution of Mr Modi, we try and think as to what are the areas where India and Israel can cooperate. I had a fantastic meeting with the home minister. A couple of months ago, we signed three agreements. One of them is on counter-terrorism. Mr Singh will be visiting Israel in November to attend an exhibition-cum-conference on homeland security. It will be an important bilateral visit and the minister will get a chance to directly see the Israeli capabilities.
India has repeatedly said that it supports the cause of Palestine while it maintains friendly relations with Israel. Are you happy with India's position?
We are happy with this stand. We have no problem with India's position on this. There are two different things here. One is the traditional commitment of India to the Palestinian people. On the other hand, India has maintained that good relations with Israel are important and foreign minister Sushma Swaraj has stated this on more than one occasion. This is not a zero sum game and one does not come at the expense of the other.