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.............However, the government denied any policy shift, indicating that India had abstained from voting because the UNHRC resolution had included a reference to taking Israel to the International Criminal Court, which India considers “intrusive”.
41 countries voted in favour of the resolution against Israel, while only the U.S. voted against it.
India was one of five countries including Kenya and Macedonia that abstained.
“In the past also, whenever a Human Rights Council resolution had made a direct reference to the ICC, as had happened in the Resolutions on Syria and North Korea, our general approach had been to abstain. We have followed the same principle in our voting on today’s Resolution,'' said the official spokesperson.
However, the vote comes on the back of a number of decisions by the Narendra Modi government that have indicated a growing closeness to Israel and a shift away from past policy. While India did vote against Israel at the UNHRC last July, in parliament, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj had refused to make a statement “condemning Israel” for the Gaza strikes.
http://www.thehindu.com/news/india-abstains-from-unhrc-vote-against-israel/article7383796.ece