New Delhi: Israel has asked India to designate Hamas as a terrorist entity like many other countries have done even as it hailed New Delhi’s “solid support” for its operations against the outfit.
Israeli ambassador to New Delhi Naor Gilon said the need for proscribing Hamas as a terrorist organisation was taken up with India following the deadly attacks on Israeli cities on October 7.
“The important countries for us are with us. These are the democracies of the world. Having said that…I think it is also time to officially designate Hamas in India as a terror organisation,” Gilon said at a media briefing.
The Israeli ambassador said many countries, including the US, Canada as well as the leading grouping, the European Union, have already designated Hamas as a terror outfit.
“We spoke to the relevant authorities here. It is not the first time we have spoken about it. I think we both understand the threat of terrorism. It is not something we are putting pressure on. We think it is something due because of our shared war on terror,” Gilon said about Israel’s call for designating Hamas as a terror outfit in India.
“We raised the issue after the attack and we are still in dialogue. We are speaking to India. It is a friendly talk…we see eye-to-eye on the vast majority of things including on counter-terrorism and other strategic issues,” he said.