Why India broke its abstention run on Palestine and backed a UN resolution 

India has voted in favour of a United Nations General Assembly resolution endorsing the New York Declaration on the peaceful settlement of the Palestinian issue and the implementation of a two-state solution.

The resolution, introduced by France, was adopted with overwhelming support. A total of 142 countries voted in favour, while 10 -- including Israel, the United States, Argentina, and Hungary -- opposed it. Twelve nations abstained.

India's vote in favour comes in the wake of an Israeli strike against Hamas in Qatar, which was seen by India as expanding the theatre of war outside Palestine, as well as the severe bombardment of Gaza in which more than 67,000 people have been killed since the conflict began in October, 2023.

Significantly, the yes vote comes after three India abstentions at the UN on the larger Palestine issue, on resolutions, which included condemnations of Israel’s attacks on Gaza.

These last three abstentions took place on June 2025, September, 2024 and October, 2023.

Since the Hamas attack on a concert in Israel in October 2023 in which 1,200 Israelis were killed and 251 Israelis taken back to Gaza as hostages, India has also voted thrice in favour of UN resolutions -- in October 2023 on a Canadian amendment condemning Hamas, in December 2023 in favour of an immediate humanitarian ceasefire, and in May 2024 backing enhanced participation for Palestine in the UN system.

Last week when Israeli bombed Qatar, where a big American defence base is also located, PM Modi condemned the Israeli air force attack in Qatar.

The PM also spoke to Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al-Thani and conveyed India’s deep concern over the Israeli strikes in Doha.

“We support resolution of issues through dialogue and diplomacy, and avoiding escalation. India stands firmly in support of peace and stability in the region, and against terrorism in all its forms and manifestations,” Modi told the Qatar Emir.

The New York Declaration late last night is the outcome of an international conference held in July at UN Headquarters, organised by France and Saudi Arabia, which resumes later this month.

The declaration urges Israel’s leadership to make a clear, public commitment to the two-state framework, which envisions the creation of a sovereign and viable Palestinian state alongside Israel.

It emphasised that the effective implementation of this solution is central to ensuring a just and durable settlement, as well as building a better future for both peoples and the wider region.

Prior to the vote, French Ambassador Jérôme Bonnafont recalled that the New York Declaration “lays out a single roadmap to deliver the two-State solution”.

This involves an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, release of all hostages held there, and the establishment of a Palestinian State that is both viable and sovereign.

The roadmap further calls for the disarmament of Hamas and its exclusion from governance in Gaza, normalization between Israel and the Arab countries, as well as collective security guarantees.

Speaking ahead of the vote, Israeli Ambassador Danny Danon said that “this one-sided Declaration will not be remembered as a step toward peace, only as another hollow gesture that weakens this Assembly’s credibility.”

He said that “Hamas is the biggest winner of any endorsement here today” and will declare it “the fruit of 7 October”.

In remarks to the opening segment, UN Secretary-General António Guterres noted that “the central question for Middle East peace is implementation of the two-State solution, where two independent, sovereign, democratic States – Israel and Palestine – live side-by-side in peace and security.”

An Israeli-Hamas agreement and ceasefire on Gaza, which came into effect on January 19, included three phases of 42 days each for exchange of hostages and prisoners from both sides.

But two months later in March, Israel launched surprise airstrikes on Gaza, breaking the ceasefire with Hamas. Netanyahu's office stated that the strikes were carried out in response to Hamas's refusal to release hostages and its rejection of proposals to extend the cease-fire.

The war has intensified since the breaking of ceasefire agreement early this year.

Palestinians say civilians are paying the price in strikes on Gaza, a small coastal strip of land that is a mere 140 sq miles packed with 2.3 million residents, which has been blockaded for more than 15 years.

The war, since October 7, 2023, has already claimed over 66,700 lives -- 64,739 Palestinians and 1,983 Israelis.