Hamas Doesn't Speak for All Palestinians; PM's Statement Didn't Cover Larger Picture: Tharoor to News18

Hamas doesn’t speak for all the Palestinian people and doesn’t represent the Palestinian state, said Congress MP Shashi Tharoor in an exclusive conversation with CNN-News18.

The Congress has come under attack for allegedly supporting the Hamas and the Palestine cause without referring to the attack on Israel. The Congress Working Committee, the party’s highest-decision-making body, expressed its “dismay and anguish” over the war and underlined its support of the Palestinian people’s right to “land (and) self-government, and to live with dignity and respect”.

“If we look at the evolving situation…Congress will come up with more statements,” Tharoor told CNN-News18. “I expect another one soon which does do the condemnation of terror which many of us individually expressed.”

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has strongly condemned the terror attacks and has made it clear that India stands in solidarity with Israel.

“No one is in favour of terrorism,” said Tharoor. “But the PM’s statement did not incorporate the larger picture, which is India’s consistent support for the rights of both Israelis and Palestinians to live secure and decent lives in dignity and on their own land. Israel has enjoyed that in the last 75 years but Palestinians have been subjected to dehumanising occupation.”

“I fully share the PM’s condemnation of Hamas terrorism,” he added.

The Congress has also pointed to late prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s statements favouring the cause of the Palestinian people on numerous occasions.

“We value Israel and the partnership we have with it,” Tharoor said. “But Palestinians are fully dependent on Israel for everything. We see how Israel fully blocked Gaza.”