Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Israeli counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu reaffirmed their commitment to strengthening bilateral cooperation across various sectors on Thursday.
Netanyahu called Modi, and they exchanged views on the recent developments in West Asia. The two leaders also reviewed sustained progress in the India-Israel Special Strategic Partnership.
“PM Netanyahu and PM Modi exchanged views on the recent developments in West Asia. The two leaders agreed to remain in touch,” the statement from the Prime Minister’s office said.
“Received a phone call from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. We reviewed progress on various aspects of the India-Israel Special Strategic Partnership which continues to grow from strength-to-strength. We also exchanged views on the current situation in West Asia,” PM Modi said on X.
The conflict in West Asia has been continuing for over five months now without any permanent solution.
Iran on Thursday said it is in the final stage of drafting an agreement on the Strait of Hormuz waterway with Oman, while two Israeli soldiers have been killed in Lebanon.
The Strait is crucial to global shipping and energy supplies. Before the war, which began with US and Israeli strikes on Iran in February, around one-fifth of the world’s oil and natural gas would pass through the waterway at the mouth of the Persian Gulf.
Israel-Hamas agreement in limbo?
Benjamin Netanyahu said that Israel did not agree to the US-backed plan for Gaza, even after receiving assurances that an Israeli pullout would only happen after Hamas disarms.
The Palestinian Islamist movement, meanwhile, reiterated its commitment to the roadmap published by US President Donald Trump‘s Board of Peace last week, which includes provisions for the group to hand over its weapons and an Israeli withdrawal.
In a video posted to his social media accounts on Tuesday night, Netanyahu said Trump’s team “believes that they can bring about the disarmament of Hamas and the demilitarisation of Gaza”.
“We are checking this. They sent us a draft — we did not agree to it, it is not our draft. We sent our comments,” he said.
Speaking at an event on Wednesday, Netanyahu, who faces a tough re-election fight in October, said that Trump “is our greatest friend, one of the greatest friends we have had in the White House”.
But he added: “I also wish to make clear: Israel’s existence is not subject to negotiation.
