Days after Blast near Embassy, Israel PM Netanyahu Thanks Modi for Safeguarding Representatives

Days after the minor blast the Israel Embassy in New Delhi, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday spoke to his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi and thanked him for his government’s efforts to safeguard Israeli representatives.

A post in the Israel PM’s official account said Modi noted that his country is “committed to the security of our people and added that India would continue to cooperate with Israel in the fight against terrorism”.

Modi also conveyed his strong condemnation of the attack near the embassy and said India will deploy all its resources to find and punish the perpetrators. In his conversation with Netanyahu over phone, Modi assured him that India accords the highest importance to the safety and security of Israeli diplomats and premises, a PMO statement.

“Both leaders expressed satisfaction about the close coordination between Indian and Israeli security agencies in this context,” it added.

A low-intensity blast had occurred outside the embassy on January 29. No one was injured. Some cars were damaged in the blast that occurred about 150 metres away from the embassy on Dr APJ Abdul Kalam Road in the very high-security Lutyens’ bungalow zone. The Israeli foreign ministry said all its diplomats and embassy staff in Delhi are “safe and sound”.

The two leaders also briefed each other about the progress in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic in their countries, and discussed possibilities of further collaboration in this area.

They =also discussed possible cooperation in the production and supply of vaccines to Israel and the mutual recognition of certificates of vaccination.

(With PTI inputs)