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As the authorities mulls implicit U.S. President Donald Trump’s invitation to join the U.S.-led Gaza “Board of Peace”, experts cautioned that India indispensable see the board’s “legitimacy” and mandate carefully.
Meanwhile, sources successful New Delhi said Indian and Israeli diplomats were discussing imaginable visits by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Israel and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to India soon.
The visits are being discussed arsenic a portion of a deeper engagement with the portion and the Israel-Palestine struggle successful the adjacent fewer weeks. On January 30, New Delhi volition big the Foreign Ministers of the 22-member League of Arab States, and the authorities is expected to consult galore of its adjacent partners successful the portion astir the mode guardant connected the Gaza Peace Proposal promoted by the United States.
Both Sheikh Mohamed Bin Zayed (MbZ), who visited New Delhi this week to announce a large strategical defence concern plan and Mr. Netanyahu, who Mr. Modi has spoken to regularly, announced their determination to judge Mr. Trump’s invitation to articulation the Gaza committee connected Wednesday (January 21, 2026).
According to sources, Mr. Modi is besides readying a sojourn to West Asia adjacent period and has invitations to respective countries successful the region. A elder authoritative confirmed that helium is considering visiting Israel. Mr. Modi past visited Israel successful 2017 and Palestine successful 2018. According to the sources, Mr. Netanyahu has a long-pending sojourn planned to India, which was scheduled, but enactment disconnected owed to antithetic reasons connected astatine slightest 3 occasions past year.
Two-state solution
The engagements are peculiarly important aft Mr. Trump sent a missive inviting leaders of astir 60 countries, including India, Russia, China, Turkiye, Argentina, Brazil, Pakistan, and respective West Asian and European countries. The Ministry of External Affairs declined to remark connected whether Mr. Modi would articulation the Board of Peace, and an authoritative said the substance was “under discussion”. According to experts, the determination indispensable beryllium considered carefully, taking into relationship India’s enactment for the two-state solution for Israel and Palestine, arsenic good arsenic its committedness to helping the Palestinian people.
“If determination is bid successful Gaza, that is bully for the radical there, and India should instrumentality a pb successful humanitarian assistance, particularly fixed its aesculapian expertise”, said erstwhile Ambassador Anil Trigunayat, pointing retired that the U.S.’s bid program includes uncovering a pathway to the two-state solution, contempt Israel’s absorption to it. However, helium pointed retired that India would find the “corporate governance model” projected for the Gaza Peace board, including a 1 cardinal dollar interest for imperishable rank “troubling”.
Others pointed to Pakistan’s invitation to the committee arsenic good arsenic an planetary stabilisation unit (ISF) arsenic concerning, arsenic good arsenic Mr. Trump’s proposition that the “peace model” could beryllium an alternate to the United Nations.
“Any engagement has to beryllium assessed against wide principles: respect for planetary law, a defined and constricted mandate, and consistency with existing multilateral frameworks, peculiarly the United Nations. India volition presumably instrumentality a considered view, keeping successful caput determination sensitivities, its long-standing positions, and the request to debar open-ended oregon precedent-setting arrangements,” said erstwhile Foreign Secretary Nirupama Menon Rao, adding that the authorities would astir apt expect greater clarity connected the mandate and ngo of the committee earlier responding to the U.S.
Among leaders who person already agreed to articulation the committee are leaders of Argentina, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Morocco, Canada, Israel and the UAE. Ukraine and the United Kingdom person expressed their absorption to Russian President Vladimir Putin being invited.
The U.S. has besides nominated Mr. Trump arsenic chair, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Mr. Trump’s peculiar negotiator Steve Witkoff, Mr. Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, erstwhile U.K. Prime Minister Tony Blair, billionaire U.S. financier Marc Rowan, World Bank President Ajay Banga, and Robert Gabriel from the U.S. National Security Council.
