India calls for immediate' Gaza ceasefire
NEW DELHI - India on Sunday called for an "immediate" halt to Israel's offensive in Gaza and said the Jewish state was using excessive military force.
"There should be immediate ceasefire and both sides must exercise restraint," Indian Foreign Minister Pranab Mukherjee told reporters in Kolkata. "The retaliation by Israel (to Hamas rocket attacks) was not only disproportionate, but totally unacceptable," he said.
"There should not be any further aggravation as innocent people at Gaza are being killed... There is immense suffering of the people there," the minister said.
India, a Cold War ally of the Palestinians, in recent years has turned into one of the largest buyers of Israeli weapons.
Wonder if he's saying this just to placate the communists in the government ... |
Posted by: Steve White 2009-01-05 |