“PM Modi in Jerusalem: How aerospace, AI and Iron Dome are the next chapter in India-Israel ties”, First Post, February 26, 2026
“Prime Minister Narendra Modi has landed in Tel Aviv for a two-day visit to Israel starting 25 February, his second trip in eight years. He is set to address the Knesset (Parliament) amid an unprecedented deepening of ties, despite attempts to isolate the Jewish state globally, especially by Europe, and growing tensions in its relations with China.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu first announced PM Modi’s visit while addressing the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations in Jerusalem a few days ago. He lauded the “tremendous alliance between Israel and India,” adding: “We are going to discuss all sorts of cooperation. Now, you know, India is not a small country. It has 1.4 billion people. India is enormously powerful, enormously popular.”
Modi’s first visit in 2017 was also the first ever by an Indian Prime Minister to the Jewish state. He and Netanyahu famously walked barefoot together on a beach to inspect a desalination facility. Netanyahu reciprocated the following year with a six-day visit to India. In 2020, India abstained for the first time on a UN resolution condemning Israeli actions in Gaza. Indian officials now refer, more openly, to Hamas as a terrorist organisation, a term they once avoided. According to international surveys, Israelis like Indians the most. There is a groundswell of pro-Israel opinion in India as well, viewing Israel as an all-weather friend……”
Read full article at firstpost.com
