Hopeful of India designating Hamas as terror organisation: Israeli Ambassador Naor Gilon
New Delhi, Nov 2: Israel is providing to India more information relating to Hamas and it is hopeful that New Delhi will designate the group as a terrorist organisation as done by around 40 nations, Israeli Ambassador Naor Gilon said on Thursday.
In an exclusive interview to PTI, the envoy said India is supporting Israel the way it wanted and that the current "crisis" only proved how strong the ties between the two countries are.
Delving into various aspects of the Hamas-Israel conflict, he said Tel Aviv is fine with New Delhi sending humanitarian aid to people of Gaza as it is in support of extending humanitarian assistance to those in need.
The ambassador, at the same time, underlined Israel's expectation from India to designate Hamas as a terrorist organisation.
"We are in a process of providing information and making it very organised," he said, exuding confidence that New Delhi will heed to Israel's request.
"Israel is doing it all around the world and not only in India. Hamas is already designated (as a terrorist organisation) in around 40 countries. All the European Union member nations and the countries like the US, the UK, Australia, Canada have done it. We want many of our friends to designate it."
Referring to Hamas leader Khaled Mashal virtually participating in a pro-Palestine rally in Kerala, the Israeli envoy said India's designation of Hamas will help prevent such activities.
"I hope India will go down that road (designating Hamas). I didn't even get a promise for that. We are doing it as a sincere effort to add as many friendly countries as possible like we see in Lashkar-e-Taiba and other organisations," he said.
"I think it is very legitimate to request reciprocity," the envoy added.
To a specific question, he said he was "hopeful" of India designating Hamas as a terror outfit.
Asked about mounting global concerns over the death of over 8,000 people and the plight of civilians in Gaza in view of the Israeli military offensive, Gilon said his country was doing its utmost to prevent humanitarian suffering and loss of lives.
"For example we took three weeks before we began ground operation. We told the population in Gaza to go South. Unfortunately many did not because there was pressure on them by Hamas. They (Hamas) are hiding behind human shields," he said.
The Israeli ambassador also asserted that his government was in support of providing humanitarian assistance to people in Gaza.
"We want to avert any humanitarian crisis. We are letting in humanitarian aid. If India wants to send humanitarian aid, it is fine with us. There is no contradiction," he said.
"We are getting strong support in India. Of course, there are elements which are less friendly, but I think the majority here are strong supporters of Israel and they understand the risk of not eliminating Hamas," Gilon said.
"All my expectations from India are fulfilled. India is supporting us vocally, India is helping us in ways that we asked. We are very happy. I expect may be to designate Hamas as a terror organisation... But other than that our cooperation and coordination have been very good," he said without elaborating.
The Israeli envoy said his country was determined to root out the threat of Hamas.
"We went to sleep Friday evening (October 6) thinking Hamas is our neighbour and woke up Saturday morning, October 7, with an understanding that it's ISIS on our border. One of the main failures of Israel is that we wanted to believe and convince ourselves that they (Hamas) are not jihadists and that they are rational people," he said.
Over 1,400 people were killed in the unprecedented attacks on Israel by Hamas on October 7. Hamas has held more than 220 people hostage in Gaza.
According to authorities in Gaza, over 8,000 people have been killed in retaliatory strikes by Israel.
Asked if Israel was open to putting a "pause" in the fighting to allow humanitarian aid to reach people in Gaza, the ambassador said "We will see what is the right thing to do on the ground."
He said if there is a window of opportunity for release of the hostages, then Israel is likely to go for a "pause".
We do not want to give Hamas any kind of advantage, he said.
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Minister Patil chairs industry meetings to chart growth for key sectors in Karnataka
Bengaluru (PTI): Karnataka Minister M B Patil on Tuesday chaired meetings with industry representatives from the aerospace and defence, machine tools, auto/EV, and green energy sectors to discuss sector growth and government support measures.
The meetings were attended by leading industrialists and their representatives, with some participating virtually.
Speaking on the occasion, the minister for Large and Medium Industries said Karnataka is at the forefront of the country’s aerospace and defence sectors.
He noted that Suzuki and Toyota plan to launch aerial taxi services in Japan by 2028, with Bengaluru-based Sasmos supplying electrical equipment for the project.
Industrialists suggested introducing similar “fly-taxi” services in Karnataka through an appropriate policy, which Patil said would be examined seriously.
The minister highlighted the need to establish testing centres and Common Facility Centres for the aerospace and defence industries and assured that these facilities would be provided.
Suggestions were also made to prepare a comprehensive roadmap for sector growth.
Karnataka has urged the Central Government to approve Defence Corridor projects in the Bengaluru North–Kolar–Chikkaballapur and Dharawada–Vijayapura–Belagavi regions.
Industrialists also suggested a corridor between Bengaluru and Mysuru, Patil said.
He said Karnataka aims to become a hub for defence electronics manufacturing, with plans to establish a 200-acre Defence Electronics Park and a 100-acre Avionics and Sensor Park.
These projects will be implemented once the Special Investment Region is operational, and land availability will not be an issue.
On the machine tools sector, Patil said the industry has recorded an annual turnover of Rs 36,500 crore and is witnessing steady growth.
Large-scale exhibitions have increased demand, and the state must strengthen its capabilities to develop control systems for heavy machinery. One testing unit is already operational in Bengaluru, with another planned for Tumakuru. Expansion of vocational training institutes in industrial areas is also underway.
In the Auto and EV sector, Vision Group members highlighted the need for a network of dry ports and more EV charging stations across the state.
Patil noted that the Tata Group is manufacturing EV buses in Dharawada for nationwide supply. Plans for mini excavator production and export facilitation were also discussed, along with the establishment of a testing facility for two-wheeler EVs.
For the Green Energy sector, the group emphasised the need for a suitable policy on battery-based energy storage and the establishment of data centres.
Patil assured that the government will seriously consider all suggestions and respond positively.
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