Mallu-Fide Intent

Yamam- an Israeli Counter Terrorist Unit. Picture- Wikimedia During Prime Minister Modi’s ongoing visit to Israel, both countries vowed to oppose the evil of terrorism. It is an apt time to look counter terrorism as a field of cooperation between India and Israel. Cooperating on Training and Tactics On 27 July 2015, three heavily armed Pakistani terrorists stormed a Police Station near Gurdaspur in Punjab. A grim stand-off ensued. Security pundits were of the view that it would be only a matter of time before the elite National Security Guard would be deployed to eliminate them. However, everybody was in for a surprise. It was not the NSG, but the Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) team of the Punjab Police which carried out the intervention. All the terrorists were killed without so much as a scratch on the face of a SWAT team member. It later emerged that this SWAT team was trained by Israeli experts. The Punjab Police is not the only beneficiary o...

Prime Minister Narendra Modi with his Israeli counterpart (PTI File) A historic visit Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ongoing visit to Israel is, in his own words, “Historic”. However, the true history of India’s relations with Israel begins much before. India officially recognized the State of Israel in 1950. Establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries had to wait for another 42 years. In 1992, India finally formalized diplomatic ties with Israel. The major reason for this delay was India’s support for the Palestinian cause. Israel, to its credit, understood the domestic compulsions of successive Indian governments. The State of Israel was content to wait till an Indian government finally found the conviction to establish a formal diplomatic relationship. Age old ties Tracing the India Israel relationship only from the 20 th century would be an error. This is because Jews from what was then known as Judea, first arrived on Ind...