NEW DELHI, 13 September 2003 — India, which this week hosted Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, said yesterday it “strongly” disapproves of moves by his Cabinet to expel Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat. “We don’t approve — we strongly disapprove,” Foreign Minister Yashwant Sinha told AFP in an interview.
He said the planned expulsion of Arafat had not been raised in talks between Israeli and Indian officials during Sharon’s visit, which the Israeli premier abruptly cut short by a day Wednesday night to return home to deal with a sudden surge of violence.
Israel’s security Cabinet, chaired by Sharon, gave its approval in principle late Thursday to Arafat’s forcible expulsion, blaming him for being an obstacle to peace efforts, but did not set a date for any action.
“They did not tell us. It is a subsequent decision after Mr. Sharon returned,” Sinha said. In talks between India and Israel during Sharon’s visit, which began Monday night, “respective views (on the Middle East) were clearly articulated by both sides”, he added. “As far as the Palestinian cause is concerned,” Sinha said, “there is no change in India’s position and that position was explained to Mr. Sharon and they explained their position.” Sinha said there was no reason India’s close ties with Arab states should be affected by Sharon’s visit to New Delhi.
“You should not forget that before Mr. Sharon came to India I had traveled to Syria; the Palestinian foreign minister traveled to India. We are in touch with our Arab friends and I see no reason why they should feel uncomfortable with Sharon’s visit.”
Meanwhile, Israel has offered to enter a partnership with India in the development of a state-of-the-art submarine, it was reported yesterday. This followed an assurance by Indian Defense Minister George Fernandes to Sharon that sensitive defense technology would not be transferred to a third country, specifically Iran, the Hindustan Times newspaper reported.
