On February 10, Modi will be first PM to be in Palestine

January 18, 2018 08:09

After having hosted Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu, PM Modi will land in Ramallah on February 10 for what will be the first-ever visit by an Indian prime minister to Palestine.

Modi's visit to Israel last year was also the first by an Indian PM and the one to Palestine follows the government's decision to "de-hypenate" relations with the two entities as a departure from past practice of seeing visits to the region as balancing acts. While India and Palestine have been discussing the proposed visit for a while, this is the first confirmation of its date and it comes in the middle of Netanyahu's visit to India.

The visit will be significant for India as the government believes it will help dispel the notion that there has been any change in its Palestine policy since Modi assumed office in 2014.

India's recent vote against the US recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital in the UN was intended to iterate its longstanding diplomatic position.

While the modalities for the visit are still being worked out, government sources here said Modi was likely to travel to Ramallah in a chopper from Amman in Jordan.

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