Did Netanyahu Defer India Trip Over Delhi Blast? Israel Says He Is ‘Confident of Security Under Modi’
New Delhi: Amid reports that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's planned India visit stands postponed due to security concerns over the Red Fort car blast, his office confirmed discussions over a “new date” but said he is “confident of India's security under PM Modi”, and Indian officials denied any connection to the November 10 explosion.
i24 News Hebrew, which had reported in September that there were plans for Netanyahu to visit India by the end of this year, cited sources as saying early on Tuesday (November 25) Indian time that the trip had been deferred over “security concerns” following the Red Fort car blast that killed over a dozen people and which Indian investigators have called a suicide bombing.
Netanyahu “is now expected to seek a new date next year pending security assessments”, the channel's diplomatic correspondent Guy Azriel wrote on X.
However, Netanyahu's office said on Tuesday night that he has “full confidence in India’s security under PM Modi”.
“Israel's bond with India” as well as the one between their prime ministers are “very strong” and “teams are already coordinating a new visit date”, it said in a statement.
Indian official sources had said on Tuesday evening that ‘drawing linkages with the Delhi blast is irresponsible’.
Media reports doing so are “misleading and factually incorrect”, the sources said, adding to “urge caution against such misleading news stories”.
Indian sources notably did not deny that Netanyahu's visit has been postponed. However, since the external affairs ministry has not announced the visit yet, it was also not likely to officially mention the deferment.
The last time the Israeli prime minister was in India was in January 2018.
He and Prime Minister Narendra Modi have projected a warm personal relationship and New Delhi has signalled closer alignment with Tel Aviv during their tenures in office.
Modi was notably one of the first world leaders to express ‘solidarity’ with Israel after Hamas's October 7, 2023 terror attack killing 1,200 people – triggering the two-year-long Gaza war in which over 69,000 Palestinians died – and India has abstained from at least four major UN General Assembly resolutions pertaining to the beleaguered coastal strip.
This article went live on November twenty-sixth, two thousand twenty five, at fifty-two minutes past twelve at night.The Wire is now on WhatsApp. Follow our channel for sharp analysis and opinions on the latest developments.
