West Asia has continued to bleed since the beginning of the Israel-Hamas War on October 7, 2023. The Israeli atrocities have claimed more than 35,000 lives in Gaza in the past seven months. Many countries have asked the Jewish Nation to stop the military operation in the Gaza Strip, with immediate effect!
Officially, India has maintained a neutral position as far as the Israel-Hamas War is concerned. However, a serious allegation against India in relation to Israel recently triggered controversy at the global stage! Reports suggest that India is sending tonnes of arms and ammunition to the Zionist Regime! In the third week of May 2024, Spain claimed that it refused permission to a Denmark-flagged cargo ship to dock at its Cartagena Port as it was carrying a shipment of arms from the southern Indian city of Chennai to Israel. The ship, Marianne Danica, left Chennai on April 8 (2024) and was heading to the Israeli port of Haifa over the Mediterranean Sea.
While sailing near Spain, the sailors wanted to anchor the ship off the Spanish coast along the Mediterranean Sea. They planned to take a bit of rest in Spain for a few days and then to leave for Israel after refuelling the ship. However, the concerned authorities in Spain did not allow the ship to dock in the European country. Talking to the media, Spanish Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares said: "This is the first time we have done this because it is the first time we have detected a ship carrying a shipment of arms to Israel that wants to call at a Spanish port." He added: "This will be a consistent policy with any ship carrying arms to Israel that wants to call at Spanish ports. The Foreign Ministry will systematically reject such stopovers for one obvious reason: the Middle East does not need more weapons; it needs more peace."
The Guardian reported that the ship was carrying 27 tonnes of explosives to Israel! Commenting on the issue, Spokesperson of the Indian Ministry of External Affairs Randhir Jaiswal stressed that New Delhi received the report of the ship and would make official comments only after gathering more information. Meanwhile, a source (who wished to remain anonymous) close to the Indian Ministry stated: "Investigation will reveal whether the items on board were cleared for export and whether the end user is the same as reported by The Guardian because there are items that are not banned for exports." So far, Israel has made no comments on this issue.
Spain, considered as a friend of India, has been one of Europe's most critical voices about the Israeli offensive in Gaza. Madrid is working hard to rally other European countries behind the idea of recognising a Palestinian State. The country on Europe's Iberian Peninsula halted arms sales to Israel after the latter launched a military campaign against the Palestinian Hamas Movement in the heavily populated Gaza Strip on October 7, 2023.
On the other hand, India maintains close defence, as well as trade, ties with Israel, although it still backs the Palestinian cause. Also, Israel is one of the main suppliers of arms to India. The Western countries have accused India of secretly supplying arms to Israel, claiming that New Delhi planned to send Marianne Danica to Tel Aviv through the Mediterranean Sea whereas the shortest maritime route from India to Israel passes through the Red Sea region. Surprisingly, the cargo ship did not take the usual route after leaving Chennai. Why the ship was trying to reach Israel through the Mediterranean Sea still remains a mystery!
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