Indian ex minister seeks awareness on Palestinian issue

While the Indian leg of the Global March to Jerusalem has begun, a former Indian minister said political awareness should increase among his compatriots on the Palestinian issue. Various delegates from across the world are expected to gather at Israel's border on 30 March - Palestine Land day, while several caravans will travel through Pakistan, Iran, Turkey, Jordan and Lebanon to raise political pressure against Israel. The Indian leg of the Global March to Jerusalem has begun. In a simple ceremony at Rajghat, the bus carrying delegates to Wagah border was flagged off by deputy chief of mission of Palestine embassy Zuhair Hamdallah Zaid. The Indian delegation will join the delegates from Pakistan, Malaysia and Indonesia on the other side of the Wagah border before moving on to Iran, Turkey, Lebanon and subsequently Israel-Lebanon border where they will try to enter Jerusalem on 30 March. A section of the Indian delegation who have been denied a visa by Pakistan will now travel directly to Iran to be part of the Asian Convoy on 16 March. The ceremony at Rajghat was attended by Members of the Indian Parliament Mani Shankar Aiyer and Ram Vilas Paswan who extended their support to the Palestinian cause. Aiyer spoke about one state solution for Israel-Palestine problem. "We understand the pain of Palestinians as division of Palestine is as old as division of India," he said. Paswan promised to send a delegation from his party to Palestine in the near future. This is significant as so far Indian politicians have refused to speak against Israel openly. "Western countries are biased towards Israel yet keep speaking about human right," the former Railway Minister said. "There is a need for more political awareness in India on this issue," he added. Addressing the delegates, Zuhair Hamdallah Zaid thanked India and the Indian government for their support towards the Palestinian people. "We are sitting here at Gandhi's memorial. Your father of the nation spoke about 'Palestine for Palestinians' nearly a century ago. You continue to espouse his vision," he said. Zaid also pointed out that there had been attempts to communalize the Palestinian cause by the Zionist lobby. "Israel is trying to divide Muslims and Christians of Palestine and give an ugly face to this movement," he said. Apart from Asian countries, Global March to Jerusalem is also being attended by supporters from 70 other countries from Europe, Africa, South America and Australia. Delegates will culminate at Israel-Lebanon border on 30 March - Palestine Land Day.