India's Left Parties Demand Sanctions on Israel Amid Conflict

Five of India’s Left-wing parties have called on the government to cancel arms export licences to Israel, demand sanctions, and push for the recognition of a Palestinian state with pre-1947 borders. They cite violations of UN resolutions and call for an immediate ceasefire and an end to Israel's apartheid regime.

In a unified stance, five of India's Left-wing parties demanded on Wednesday that the government revoke all export licences and permissions granted to various Indian companies for supplying arms and ammunition to Israel.

In a joint statement, the Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)], Communist Party of India (CPI), Revolutionary Socialist Party (RSP), All India Forward Bloc (AIFB), and the Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) [CPI(ML)] called for an immediate ceasefire and recognition of a Palestinian state, with the pre-1947 borders and East Jerusalem as its capital, alongside sanctions on Israel.

Citing flagrant violations of UN resolutions and International Court of Justice rulings against the genocide in Gaza, these parties urged the Indian populace to express solidarity with Palestine and oppose the atrocities carried out by Israel, backed by the United States.

They also proposed a military embargo on Israel, along with a prohibition on the import and export of weapons and cessation of all military cooperation. The left-wing coalitions called for legal sanctions on Israel, including diplomatic, financial, and economic measures, and invoked the UN's special committee against apartheid to dismantle Israel's regime.

The demands from these parties extend to canceling all export licenses for military supplies to Israel, halting arms imports from Israel, and ending all forms of complicity with Israel's military actions. They emphasized the need for political and diplomatic resistance by the Indian government in line with India's legacy since before Independence.

The statement concluded by urging party units to mobilize the Indian populace effectively on August 3 to support Palestinian solidarity.

(With inputs from agencies.)