It has declined to allow entry to any communication equipment on grounds of security but has permitted computers to be brought in
Ramallah/Jerusalem : Israel’s dogged refusal to permit entry of computer communication equipment, which was to have been gifted to a Palestinian university by President Pranab Mukherjee has introduced, an irritant into his landmark visit to the Jewish state starting on Tuesday.
Mukherjee, who arrived in Palestine on Monday for an overnight visit, is scheduled to gift some computers along with the communication equipment to the India-Palestine Centre for Excellence in Information and Communication Technology at the Al-Quds University in Ramallah, the seat of Palestine Authority.
The equipment is to come through Israel. However, Israel has declined to allow entry to any communication equipment on grounds of security but has permitted computers to be brought in. The computers will now be handed over to the university without the communication equipment. Mukherjee will become the first Indian President to visit Israel where he travels from Ramallah tomorrow on a three-day visit.
The Israelis have welcomed the visit which they see as a landmark in bilateral ties but have nevertheless stuck to their guns on the communication equipment, which has evoked unhappiness on the Indian side. While the Israeli customs cleared the passage of 30 computers which were stuck at the Ashdod port to be moved to the university, the communication systems remained at the Ben Gurion airport.
Officials in Jerusalem said that the computers were now on their way after customs clearance and will reach the Centre before Mukherjee’s planned inauguration.
Israeli sources sought to downplay the controversy saying that the said communication systems cannot be allowed to enter because the law does not permit for the same.
“Like Indian laws do not permit satellite phones being carried into their territory, there are technical issues around frequencies involved in the communication systems that do not pass our legal requirements,” they said. – PTI
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Road in Ramallah named after India
Ramallah : An important road and a roundabout here have been named after India, coinciding with the tour of President Pranab Mukherjee, the first Indian head of state to visit Palestine. The Sharia-e-Al-hind (India road) and Midan-e-Al-hind (India roundabout) in Ramallah were named at a ceremony attended by Mukherjee and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and hundreds of Palestinians.
The new road, which is close to the Mahatma Gandhi Road that houses the Indian mission, was unnamed so far and a Palestinian official said that it was given its name in honour of Mukherjee “whose visit reflects the strong bonding between the two people”. “The visit of the Indian President, the highest official to visit Palestine from New Delhi, is a historic moment and the naming and inauguration gives it a sense of history,” an official of the Beitunia municipality, Yazan, said.
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