NEW DELHI (Dispatches) -- India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to visit the Israeli-occupied territories on Wednesday, embarking on his second official trip to the region amid deepening strategic ties with Israel and rising criticism from Arab and Muslim states. 
The personal rapport between Modi and Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu has become emblematic of a dramatic shift in India’s foreign policy—one that risks undermining New Delhi’s historical support for Palestinian rights and its moral standing in the Global South.
When Modi first landed at Ben Gurion Airport in July 2017, he was welcomed by Netanyahu with warm embraces and grand rhetoric about dismantling remaining barriers between New Delhi and Tel Aviv. 
At the time, the visit marked the first Indian prime ministerial visit to Israeli occupied territories. Now, nearly nine years later, that once-controversial relationship has become one of India’s most high-profile friendships under Modi.
Netanyahu has framed Modi’s visit as a step toward forging what he calls a regional alliance that would bring together countries across Asia, Africa and the West Asia to counter what he calls shared “radical” adversaries. 
In recent remarks, Netanyahu spoke of creating a “hexagon” of allied states, including India, Greece, Cyprus and several Arab, African and Asian nations. But critics describe this vision as a bid to reshape the region in ways that serve Israeli strategic interests while marginalizing the Palestinian cause.
The Palestinian resistance movement Hamas was among the first to condemn the proposed alliance. In a statement, Hamas spokesman Hazem Qassem denounced Netanyahu’s initiative as a blatant threat to Arab states’ strategic interests and a disregard for Palestinian rights. 
Qassem warned that any regional arrangement that ignores Palestinians’ legitimate rights will not bring stability and urged Arab states to recognize the dangers posed by alliances rooted in sidelining Palestinian aspirations.
The timing of Modi’s trip—set against the backdrop of Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza, widespread civilian casualties, and fraying diplomatic credibility in the region—has intensified criticism. 
Israeli and U.S. military actions in Gaza have drawn international condemnation, and in late 2024 the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant against Netanyahu over war crimes. 
Yet India’s leadership has maintained close ties with Israel, cementing cooperation in military, technology and intelligence.
Analysts argue that New Delhi’s pivot toward Tel Aviv comes at a cost. India once stood firmly in solidarity with the Palestinian struggle. 
As recently as 1947, India opposed the United Nations partition plan for Palestine, and in 1988 it became one of the first non-Arab states to recognize Palestinian statehood. 
But successive administrations, particularly under Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)—with its Hindu nationalist ideology—have increasingly aligned with Israel, driven by military procurement and strategic calculus.
Under Modi, India has become one of Israel’s largest arms customers, even as Israeli forces commit genocide Gaza. Investigations have revealed that Indian firms supplied rockets and explosives used by Israel in 2024, underscoring the depth of the military relationship. 
Ahead of this visit, New Delhi and Tel Aviv signed a memorandum to deepen cooperation, including potential joint development of anti-ballistic missile systems.
Critics say Modi’s visit amounts to de facto legitimization of the Israeli occupation and erodes India’s traditional position as a moral voice on Palestinian rights. 
“The so-called realist turn of India has cost its moral power,” said Anwar Alam, senior fellow at New Delhi’s Policy Perspectives Foundation, adding that the trip risks cementing a strategic axis that prioritizes security transactions over justice and regional peace.