New Delhi: Palestinian foreign minister Varsen Aghabekian Shahin said on Wednesday (January 29) that India is positioned to play a mediating role between Israel and Palestine and to actively participate in Gaza’s reconstruction, citing New Delhi’s friendships with both sides and its long-standing support for Palestine.Speaking at a press conference, Shahin said Palestine recognises India’s strategic interests and its relationships with both Israel and the Arab world. She said India’s position on international law and the two-state solution is clear to Palestine.“We truly understand India is a great country and looks strategically at its interest and is a friend of Palestine and Israel today.. we would like India to be moving to a balanced approach to the area and we truly believe that India can play a major role as a mediator between Israel and Palestine, towards the end of conflict and occupation in Palestine,” Shahin told reportersThe Palestinian minister is in New Delhi to participate in the 2nd India-Arab Foreign Ministers’ Meeting, being held after a gap of 10 years on Saturday (January 31). The meeting, co-chaired by India and the United Arab Emirates, will bring together foreign ministers and senior officials from all 22 Arab League member states, along with the League’s Secretary-General. It will be preceded by the 4th India-Arab Senior Officials Meeting on January 30.The first India-Arab Foreign Ministers’ Meeting was held in Bahrain in 2016, where India and Arab states identified cooperation in five priority areas including economy, energy, education, media and culture.Shahin described the situation in Gaza as unacceptable, stating that more than 80% of the enclave’s infrastructure has been destroyed. She said the Palestinian struggle did not begin in 1967 but over a century ago, referring to the Balfour Declaration and subsequent displacement of Palestinians.The foreign minister acknowledged India’s long-standing development assistance to Palestine in education, healthcare and social infrastructure. She recalled that India’s relationship goes back to the 1930s and noted that India stood with Palestinians in 1947.Palestine is looking to India to play an active role in the reconstruction of Gaza and in supporting the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees, known as UNRWA, Shahin underscored. She emphasised the importance of India’s role in rebuilding the Gaza Strip in light of reports that up to $110 billion will be needed to reconstruct the densely populated enclave following the Israeli bombardment.“In that regard, we look forward to India’s participation actively, we know it will. We would like it to continue participating in the reconstruction efforts. It has done a lot in easier times, what is needed now is more in more difficult times,” Shahin said.India increased its annual funding for the UN agency from 1.25 million dollars to 5 million dollars in 2018. Shahin emphasised that UNRWA, which has been repeatedly targeted by Israel in recent months, was created to cater to Palestinian refugees and is mandated by the UN. “…UNRWA, for us, is a lifeline to the Palestinian refugees and UNRWA’s operations need to continue,” she said.Shahin said humanitarian assistance needs to start entering Gaza unimpeded. She noted that while more aid is entering than before, it is still not close to what is needed. She said the needs in Gaza are enormous and probably 50 times greater than in the period before 2023.“If we had 60% of the population of the Gaza Strip as refugees before 2023, I can assure you today everyone is a refugee in Gaza, or they have lost everything. So, the expectations from India are enormous and we hope that India will come and do whatever it takes as it has done in the past,” she said.She noted that since the Palestinians signed the Oslo Accords, there has been more annexation of Palestinian land, more encroachment on human rights, and more killing of Palestinians, while the world community has remained a silent witness. “What we witnessed was live on TV and the whole world has seen it. No one can say we have not seen it,” she said.Shahin stated that 82% of Gaza has been destroyed infrastructure-wise. “They have killed over 72,000 and another 172,000 were injured, and this is the direct killing and injuries, because if you count the indirect killing and injuries, the numbers will be much higher,” she said.Responding to reports that Hamas, which carried out the terror attacks in October 2023 that triggered the conflict with Israel, had established links with Pakistan-based terror groups, Shahin said Palestine condemns all forms of violence and any relation with anybody that espouses violence. “We in Palestine espouse non-violence and we espouse international law, period,” she said.Regarding the New York Declaration, Shahin called it extremely important. “The New York Declaration is an extremely important declaration because it tells us exactly how we need to move from where we are today to the path of independence and sovereignty,” she said.The declaration was endorsed by the United Nations General Assembly in September 2025 after a high-level international conference held in July at UN headquarters in New York.Organised by France and Saudi Arabia, the conference produced a seven-page declaration laying out a 15-month plan for establishing a sovereign Palestine. The plan includes tasking the Palestinian Authority with governing Palestine and establishing a temporary UN peacekeeping mission. The declaration was endorsed by 142 countries, including India, with Israel and the United States among the 10 nations voting against it.On US President Donald Trump’s Board of Peace initiative, Shahin said India has to look at its interests as a world power and decide if that suits its aspirations.Trump launched the Board of Peace at the World Economic Forum in Davos in January 2026, describing it as an effort to oversee Gaza reconstruction and promote global stability.The board’s charter, which does not directly mention Gaza, proposes a broad mandate for a new international organization. Membership requires a $1 billion contribution for a permanent seat, though three-year memberships are available without payment.Some countries, including several Gulf countries, Pakistan, Hungary and Vietnam, have accepted, while many European nations have expressed reservations or declined. India has received an invitation but has not publicly responded.Shahin’s visit comes at a time when prime minister Narendra Modi is expected to visit Israel in February. Israeli Ambassador to India Reuven Azar confirmed on Wednesday that Netanyahu has formally invited Modi and that preparations are underway. News reports said the visit may occur later next month, though official dates have not been announced. The invitation comes after reports in November 2025 that Netanyahu had cancelled a planned December visit to India. Israeli media reported the cancellation was due to security concerns following a deadly terror attack in New Delhi.This was the third time in 2025 that Netanyahu cancelled a planned India visit, with earlier cancellations attributed to Israeli elections. However, the Israeli prime minister’s office stated it has full confidence in India’s security arrangements under Modi.