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Kashmir an integral part of India: Israel

Israel on Thursday said it considered Kashmir an integral part of India and called for closer cooperation between New Delhi, Washington and Tel Aviv to combat their "common enemy -- Muslim extremism".

"Kashmir is part of India and it cannot be equated with Palestine, which is an occupied territory. Unlike Kashmiris, Palestinians are not citizens of Israel," Nawaz Mazalha, a member of the Israeli Parliament Knesset, told reporters in New Delhi.

Mazalha was part of the four-member parliamentary delegation presently visiting India.

The leader of the delegation, Amnon Rubinstein, said it was imperative that India, the United States and Israel "co-operate in defence and peace making", as they would be the first targets in the event of nuclear, biological or chemical weapons falling into the hands of Muslims extremists.

The delegation, which had meetings with senior Indian leaders, expressed happiness over the "increasing cooperation between the two countries in the fields of defence and matters of security because of identical interests".

Another member of the delegation, Tomy Lapid, said both the countries were victims of Muslim terrorists supported by neighbouring Muslim countries.

Pointing out that not a single democracy existed between New Delhi and Jerusalem, the delegation called for closer trade and people to people relations between the two nations.

PTI

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