By Musa Mdluli

MBABANE: When Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi stepped off the plane in Tel Aviv on Wednesday for his second visit to Israel, and the first by any Indian premier since his own landmark trip in 2017, the symbolism was unmistakable, writes Aljazeera Digital Correspondent in Islamabad, Pakistan Abid Hussain.

“He was given a red-carpet welcome by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, a head of government who is facing an International Criminal Court arrest warrant and prosecuting a war in Gaza that much of the world has condemned as genocide. Yet Modi’s visit signalled not hesitation, but a wholehearted endorsement to expand India’s strategic embrace of Israel. Days before his arrival, Netanyahu announced at a cabinet meeting what he described as a “hexagon of alliances”, a proposed regional framework placing India at its centre alongside Greece, Cyprus and unnamed Arab, African and Asian states,” writes the Aljazeera Correspondent.