Israeli Diplomat Praises India For Balancing Hard And Soft Power, Hints At Deal With Hamas To Free Hostages

Israeli Ambassador to India, Reuven Azar, acknowledged Israel’s challenges in leveraging soft power during conflicts, contrasting it with India’s success in combining hard and soft power to tackle complex issues.

Speaking to The Times of India editors, Azar remarked, “You have been combining hard and soft power in the way that you have been challenging these groups. Frankly, we haven't been investing enough because most of our investment went to hard power, not to soft power.”

Israel’s ongoing military offensive in Gaza has attracted mixed global reactions, with substantial backing for Palestinians. As the only Jewish state in the region, Azar noted Israel often feels outnumbered in both geopolitical and narrative battles.

Azar praised India’s cooperation on Israel’s core national interests while highlighting some differences, particularly in India’s support for UNRWA, the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian refugees, and its voting patterns at the UN General Assembly (UNGA).

“I’m not in the business of giving grades to our friends. I think that when it comes to our core national interests, India has been pretty cooperative,” Azar said. However, he expressed Israel’s preference for alternative channels to assist Palestinian refugees.

“I told our Indian friends that when it comes to UNRWA, we prefer that they divert their assistance to the needy people through other channels. This is a conversation we’re having and we are going to continue to engage,” he added.

In 2023, India contributed $5 million to UNRWA and supported 10 out of 13 UNGA resolutions on the conflict while abstaining on three.

Azar outlined Israel’s primary goal in Gaza as dismantling Hamas’ military capabilities to prevent future rearmament. “For that, you need a new order in the Gaza Strip. That’s what we are trying to achieve: to continue decimating Hamas and engage with partners that want to work with us to restore peace,” he stated.

He hinted at progress in negotiations over hostages held by Hamas. “The PM (Benjamin Netanyahu) just met the families of the hostages and said he feels that time is ripe for a hostage deal. It seems there might be some progress in negotiations,” Azar said.

While many countries, including India, endorse a two-state solution, Israel’s Knesset rejected Palestinian statehood earlier this year, citing security concerns.

Defending this position, Azar explained, “It means that as long as you have a population that is bound to try and destroy you, you won’t be able to give them full sovereignty because they will use that in order to destroy you. We tried it with the Gaza Strip. Look what happened. For 17 years, we gave a chance. And then Hamas indoctrinated their people from the age of two or three just to kill Jews.”

Azar also addressed regional developments, noting disruptions to Iran’s influence and changing power dynamics in the eastern Mediterranean. He warned about extremist groups like Hayat Tahrir al-Sham destabilizing Syria, adding, “This was a meticulously planned attack by the Syrian opposition that was supported, sponsored by the Turkish government.”