India’s Modi discusses defence ties with Israel

Ties between Israel and India look set to deepen as Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi makes his second official visit to Israel, according to The New Arab and agencies on February 25th.

Modi met with his Israeli counterpart, Benjamin Netanyahu and President Isaac Herzog, to discuss a defence partnership; Modi would also address the Israeli Knesset.

On X, Modi wrote that “Our nations share a robust and multifaceted Strategic Partnership” he added that “Ties have significantly strengthened in the last few years.”

Despite India’s historical support for Palestine, in recent years, the country has increasingly aligned itself with Israel. This is often linked to India’s rising embrace of Hindu nationalism, or Hindutva.

Much like Netanyahu’s Likud-led coalition government, which includes the far-right Jewish Power Party, Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has discriminated against religious minorities.

Both countries seek to establish ethnically or religiously pure states, with Israel targeting Palestinians and India targeting Muslims in discriminatory policies.

Furthermore, the countries have sought to expand their territories, with Israel encouraging Jewish settlement in the occupied Palestinian territories and India encouraging Hindu settlement in occupied Kashmir.

News of this Israeli partnership comes days after it was reported that an Indian defence company, MKU, an international leader in advanced ballistic protection and optropic systems, was considering opening a plant in Morocco and investing in the Kingdom.

This announcement follows the successful launch of the Tata Advanced Systems Ltd (TASL) plant in partnership with Morocco’s Royal Armed Forces in September 2025.

On January 8th, it was reported that Morocco had received its first locally produced WhAP 8×8 armoured vehicles from the TASL plant, signalling the Kingdom’s growing foreign military ties.

Similarly, Morocco has reaffirmed military ties with US contractors, including Lockheed Martin, and Israeli contractors, such as Elbit Systems and Rafael.

This is despite concerns that defence contractors are complicit in war crimes in the occupied Palestinian territories, including Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza, which has killed over 71,000 people since 2023.

Morocco’s deepening ties with Israel have been condemned by the Moroccan public, who also object to the Kingdom’s participation in the so-called “Board of Peace.”

Similarly, people in India have condemned their country’s Israeli ties, with parliamentarian Imran Masood asserting that “India’s stand is clear … that it supports Palestine.”

The New Arab and agencies, Al Jazeera and agencies, Maghrebi.org