From Netanyahu to Modi: We will build ‘iron alliance’ against threat of ‘extremist Islam’
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on GoogleNava Freiberg is The Times of Israel's deputy diplomatic correspondent.
Speaking in the Knesset plenum ahead of visiting Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s speech, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says India and Israel will build an “iron alliance” of countries “in the face of extremist Islam.”
“Israel is stronger than ever, and India is stronger than ever,” Netanyahu states early on in his speech, which he delivers in both Hebrew and English.
He thanks Modi for his support for Israel following the Hamas-led October 7, 2023, attack, saying, “after this murderous attack, you stood in such a clear way, so moral, so sharp… We will never forget this.”
He calls Israel’s war against Hamas “a defensive war, a war for the truth, the future of humanity.”
“India supports Israel because it understands that Israel serves as a protective wall against barbarism,” he continues, saying, “The massacre of October 7 made it absolutely clear: either the jihadist axis of evil will break us, or we will break it. And we are breaking it — and will break it.”
“In the face of extremist Islam that threatens all humanity and the free nations, we will build together an iron alliance — an alliance of nations that believe in moderation, in progress, in human dignity, in mutual respect. An alliance of nations that sanctify life and are ready to fight against those who sanctify death and seek to return us to the dark barbarism of the Middle Ages,” Netanyahu says.
Netanyahu adds that the two countries are together developing the IMEC initiative, a US-backed transport project that aims to connect India to Europe via the Middle East by sea and rail.
“This maritime-land corridor can exist and flourish only if it passes through stable and secure countries. And there are no stronger and more secure countries on this axis than India and Israel,” he says.
“During this visit of yours, we will also implement agreements in tourism, in culture, in agriculture, in water, in immigration — and in the spirit of the Abraham Accords, in peace,” Netanyahu adds.
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