Palestinian envoy urges neutrality on Hamas presence at rally in PoK praises India's role in Gaza crisis

New Delhi, Mar 24 (PTI) The Palestinian Ambassador to India, Abdullah M Abu Shawesh, on Monday emphasised the Palestinian policy of non-interference in other nations' conflicts when asked about a Hamas leader's presence at a rally in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.
     The envoy praised India's efforts to stop what he described as a 17-month "slaughtering campaign" in Gaza.
     The ambassador said he also sent a letter to India's foreign ministry on Monday about the latest escalation in Gaza, as a part of ongoing dialogue with officials.
     "The door of the Minister of Foreign Affairs is always open," he told PTI here.
     In February, Shawesh addressed a rally in PoK, where a Hamas representative joined leaders of Pakistan-based terrorist groups like Jaish-e-Mohammed, in an event billed as the "Kashmir Solidarity Conference."
     Asked if he would denounce the Hamas leader's involvement in a conflict zone India considers its own, Shawesh said Palestinians remain focused on their struggle.
     "We did not interfere, and we did not align ourselves with any (conflicts) in the world," he said. "No one of us as a Palestinian should align himself in any problematic issue against any country," he added, reiterating the principle of neutrality, he said has been upheld by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.
     Shawesh reserved his strongest words for the situation in Gaza, describing it as a "televised massacres or slaughtering campaign" by Israel.
     He praised India's "strong relation with both Israel and Palestine" and its support for Palestinian issues at the United Nations.
     "India is doing its ultimate best to make sure this war is stopped," Shawesh said, calling the country the "largest democracy in the world" with leverage to broker peace in the Middle East.
     The ambassador said more than 50,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza and the West Bank, while around 12,000 are missing since the onset of the current conflict.
     "We want to go back to the election very soon after this war," he said. "Gaza, the West Bank, and East Jerusalem should become a united territory to establish as a Palestinian state."

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)