India’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Ambassador Harish Parvathaneni, on Tuesday reaffirmed the country’s support for a two-state solution to the Israel-Palestine conflict and called for urgent humanitarian aid in Gaza.
Speaking at the High-Level International Conference on ‘The Peaceful Settlement of the Question of Palestine and the Implementation of the Two-State Solution’ in New York, Parvathaneni stressed the need for direct engagement between the parties.
“Our efforts must now focus on how to bring about a two-state solution through purposeful dialogue and diplomacy, and bringing the parties to the conflict to engage directly with each other,” he said.
He highlighted the worsening humanitarian situation in Gaza, highlighting the high death toll, damaged medical facilities, and children out of school for over 20 months.
“The human suffering in Gaza continues unabated… Humanitarian aid needs to flow without impediments,” he said. “Palestinians in Gaza must have access to food, fuel, and other necessities without hindrance,” Parvathanen added.
India also called for an immediate ceasefire and urged that humanitarian assistance remain outside political or conflict considerations.
“Humanitarian assistance is vital in sustaining life and must remain outside the realm of politics or conflict… There are no alternatives to these measures. We appreciate the efforts of all friendly states that have facilitated such measures between the partie”, he said.
Parvathaneni reiterated India’s willingness to support meaningful solutions. “Let us not be content with paper solutions but strive to achieve practical solutions… India expresses its complete readiness to contribute to this noble endeavor,” he said.