care about people from both sides. >> the united states has been israel's strongest backer in the war on gaza. the european union and united kingdom have voiced political support, as more palestinians are killed in the humanitarian situation worsens. where do russia, china and india stand? this is "inside story." ♪ >> hello, and welcome to the program. the world is watching events in

gaza, but from different standpoints. washington has promised its unwavering backing israel and sent military equipment to support the bombarding of gaza. the eu says it stands in solidarity with israel afterwards calls heinous crimes that killed 1300 people and left more than 3000 injured. there have been little international pressure to rein in attacks on palestinians. what about other world powers? do they have a role to play? we will discuss this with our guests in a few moments, but first this report. [explosions] correspondent: the world in gaza has polarized world opinion. strong support for israel in the west but a different picture elsewhere. geithner has called for

restraint, and said injustice to palestinians needs to be addressed, but it is treading a fine line. beijing has supported the palestinian cause but since establishing diplomat relations in 1992, israel and china have developed close ties particularly in military development technology. the palestinian authority president visited aging in june, am china promised to work to resolve the conflict with israel. it is becoming more involved in the middle east, brokering a deal between saudi arabia and iran, to reestablish relations in march. russia has a complex relationship with israel and palestine. many israelis have russian heritage, but like china, russia has stressed the need for israeli occupation to be addressed. a muddy and prevented the u.n. secure to cancel from agreeing on a statement -- on monday it prevented the un security

council from agreeing on a statement. >> on the contrary, it promoted its own ideas about how this should be done, put pressure on both sides, first on one side, then on the other. every time without taking into account the fundamental interests of the palestinian people. correspondent: india has allied itself with israel. prime minister modi posted that they stand in solidarity with israel at this difficult hour. in 2017, modi became the first prime minister to visit israel but not to go to palestine. they have had to plumb attic ties since 1992, but they built a strategic relationship. india is the biggest buyer of israeli weapons despite supporting palestinians. on thursday, the indian minister of external affairs says india is reiterating his call for an

independent palestinian state. a leading figure in the opposition congress party has condemned hamas for targeting civilians but attacked israeli policy at the heart of the conflict. >> there was a larger issue at stake. there is a dehumanizing occupation continuing in many places. people in gaza have felt imprisoned. the people of the west bank have a wall interfering with their normal freedom of movement and conditions of life. correspondent: the two state solution unites three powers as war rages in gaza. bernard: let's bring in our guests. in moscow, an independent russian foreign-policy analyst, in beijing, a senior fellow from

a chinese think tank, and in sweden, a professor at the department of peace and conflict research. a warm welcome to you all. pavel, let me start with you. let rep putin and benjamin netanyahu, russia and israel are supposed to be friends but there has been no phone call from the kremlin, why? >> actually today in the commonwealth of independent states, putin announced israel has been the victim of the terrorist attack and has the right to self-defense. at the same time reiterating russia wants both sides to show restraint, and russia supports a two state solution.

the russian position is rather balanced i would say. there was no phone call to netanyahu, but russia doesn't want to go and criticize israel, at least the kremlin does not. it should be understood there are different tractions in the russian leadership and the russian state apparatus, and there in -- there are embedded anti-jewish fractions but there are those who support israel, prominent jews. president putin, he is known to be a friend of the jewish people. israel is not seen as an enemy,

america is. bernard: wouldn't israel expect more overt support from the kremlin? israel did not join sanctions against russia after the invasion of ukraine. israel has not gotten much back on the kremlin this week it seems. >> they are not getting back but they are also not getting any russian pushback. the foreign ministry is more pro-arab, i would say, but the establishment in the foreign ministry and russian military establishment, and intelligence services tend to be pro-arab. there are still connections from the cold war. there are other fractions inside the kremlin, and the result is a balanced position. israel is happy that russia has

nil at terry forces deployed nearby in syria is not in a balance neutral position. >> -- russia has military forces deployed nearby in cereal and is not in a balanced neutral position. bernard: it must know that will not happen, peace talks, in the future, so why is china treading carefully? >> treading carefully because you have a situation where people are trying to create this false tech economy. that it is easy -- false dichotomy, that you either stand with palestinians or israel. china is 20 stand with the people. they do not want more deaths. the tragic loss of life that happen before the hamas attack, the tragic loss of life during it, and now more tragic loss of life.

it is not doing well. already there was an attack here in beijing, a jewish embassy official was attacked in broad daylight. what you have here is a chain reaction of hatred and death that is following around. it is time stop that cycle. two-state solution, everybody knows is the louvre way out, and unfortunately no one wants to admit it. everybody is rushing to say i am with this guy or that guy, and right now there are only villains and victims, no heroes. bernard: does china see it might have a mediation role after its success with saudi arabia and iran, does china see that? >> i think you make the mistake of inferring the chinese take on this same role that the u.s. does. china is not -- china, this is not a political plaything for domestic audiences. china is more than happy to be

part of any peaceful resolution. they would be happy with u.s., russia, anybody to stop the carnage. you have 2 million people, one million children. how will this work? adding more tragedy, it is incredible that we are creating a chain, children who live through this bombardment, what will happen to them? how easily they be radicalized? this is an ongoing chain of a situation, and instead of having responsible governments saying, everyone needs to calm down and talk instead of throwing bullets and bombs at each other -- you are not hearing that. it is just about taking sides. bernard: the government in india has been more vocal in its support of israel, narenda modi saying, we stand in solidarity with israel but this was the first non-arab country to recognize the plo, then the

palestinian state. what has changed in india with modi? >> we all know modi and the hindu nationalist government has been traditionally closer to israel. the relationship [indiscernible] recognizes israel, went from diplomatic relations in the 1990's. what has happened here, saying india is with israel and hamas is a terrorist organization. although india law does not look at it that way, it is not exactly anti-muslim, which the present government has. that is one thing that puts us

closer to israel, and they have strong military relationship now with israel. what has happened now that has been strong public opinion, it is not just 200 million muslims who live in india but strong public opinion is for the palestinian cause. now they have realized, and today made a statement, the foreign ministry has come out with a statement making it balanced rather than what modi did in the beginning. bernard: is there a sign of an attempt of the foreign ministry trying to draw that back in? >> that is right, they are trying to make it sound like they are worried about what will happen, and reiterated they are in favor of the two-state

solution. they're trying to say look at what is happening, we are worried about the humanitarian situation in gaza. that was missing in the beginning. it has come because of the pressure from public opinion, and they realize indian history, indian became independent 78 years back. they have that kind of colonial past which they understand well, the indian public, what is happening in palestine. because of this balanced approach, the indian foreign ministry, it is what modi had said before. bernard: is russia worried about iran and what iran thanks given that it is one of the primary suppliers of arms to russia as it continues its war in ukraine? >> of course, ukraine right now

is the main focus point of all russian policies. iran has been supportive, and increasingly close ties between moscow and tehran. they do not want to get on the wrong side of the iranians. russian policies and will be tread very carefully, not to worsen relations with israel or iran at the same time. and keeping in mind all the time that the main enemy is the united states. as the united states becomes more involved in the middle east , russia will have an important redline.

they will see if there is any threat to russian allies. russia has military presence in syria, and they could become militarily involved, although that seems remote. there are possibilities for the russian position to change because being a friend of iran and israel, and an enemy of america is a precarious decision to have. this house of cards could simply tumble. bernard: nobody wants to see this become a wider middle east conflict, but would russia take sides if the u.s. comes down on the side of israel, will russia take sides? >> they will try to avoid it because their hands are full with ukraine.

but we have a contingent in syria. fighter jets and aircraft and capabilities. they can possibly get involved. that is where russia could get involved. bernard: touching on iran for china, how higher the stakes for china if this conflict broadens out in the middle east? it took 87% of iran's oil exports the last couple of years and takes more oil from the middle east than the u.s., so there is a lot of steak for china. >> there is a lot at stake in terms of energy but frankly, china's position is it will not get involved in anything militarily. there are no alliances. they will call for peace talks

because that is the only rational thing you can do. all its and bombs and killing children will not and this tragedy that has been going on for these many years. at this point, china is not in a position to even act militarily. the closest thing they have is in djibouti, and that is a supply station for antipiracy, so there is no question about military involvement. in terms of iran, iran has their own position. they back hezbollah which backs the gaza entities that attacked. the real danger here, i was on a show where you had an american, a brit, and an israeli saying he said any cost, and talking about moving everybody out of gaza.

i do not know how you marshall 1.4 million people out of there, but with no sense of the consequences of what that would mean down the road. bernard: is there more at stake for china than the u.s. in the middle east because of china's much greater reliance on energy from the middle east? the u.s. can back israel as it has done unequivocally without pulling israel back but china has more at stake? >> it does but the u.s. would not go unscathed. right now it is concerned about inflation. mobile oil prices are spiking. you are seeing spikes in fertilizers. this will lead to more inflation in the u.s., and that will not be welcome. they might get a bump out of selling excess oil, but this is a global issue. we have had two now, ukraine and

now israel. these are undermining the very basic structure of our economy, which is a global supply system where demand creates jobs and opportunities. right now none of that is happening. >> you have written that you thought it would be better for india to take a more neutral stance, but isn't there more in this for india to back israel in terms of trade and defense and security cooperations? there are a lot of significant ties for india. >> yes but india is not russia or china. india is india. we know india hands imitation's -- we know india has limitations, but it has other strengths for a neutral stance. the modi regime, despite its

improved relationship with israel, a strong military cooperation with israel, it is not as strong with gulf countries. this is where the challenge comes in because india must realize if this conflict lingers, this powerlessness continues, that will be different on how to manage these relationships together. it is important to realize india has a strong community with big divisions, and how they will look at this conflict. it has a lot of challenge which india did not get in the beginning because of modi's hubris, and i understand they have developed secret relations

with israel. it is also important for them to look at where india stands, what india can do, and [indiscernible] bernard: you are saying modi's condemnation of hamas could affect india's relations with arab states? >> what i am saying if the conflict starts escalating and becomes larger than what it is now, then it will put india into a bucket which is not possible for it to maintain close relations with the gulf countries and israel. that will create a number of

complications. many complications economic-wise, policy wise, and the relationship with pakistan and china. that is why it is important that india maintains its position because it has developed a strong relationship with israel but it is dependent on having a strong relation, or at least working relations with the rest of the arab countries. bernard: pavel, is russia a beneficiary now, the change of focus from ukraine to israel? >> that is a hope expressed in moscow that since the west will be involved in centering its efforts on the middle east, it means they will not have more resources or attention of the

leadership in the west on ukraine, especially in the united states where there is dysfunction right now in congress. there is hope ukraine may be left out in the cold. i do not know how that will work out but it looks like we are going into autumn and winter with bad weather, and some pause in the fighting on the ukrainian fronts inevitably. when that pause happens, maybe problems in the middle east will de-escalate to some extent. right now there is hope this will work out and make russia stable. bernard: in years past, putin might have looked to broker an end to the fighting, but there is not much incentive for him to do that now? >> [indiscernible]

russian and american diplomats are not talking to each other almost at all. they cannot get together, and that is a very serious problem because communications between moscow and washington are almost broke down, and between moscow and brussels. bernard: beijing trying to stay on from the terms with the muslim world. does that give it an incentive to be a stakeholder in becoming a stabilizing force in the middle east? >> i think it behooves all powers in the world to be a stabilizing force. who does it benefit? does it benefit india, russia, the u.s. or china? it doesn't. this is all negative, there is no good news here. this idea that this is a calculated game -- it isn't.

this is a situation that has been going on for many years, it finally exploded. or horrifying things are happening. let's say you are a muslim today in the world looking at this situation, and looking at the u.s. and other countries demanding that you stand with israel, or that you are some war criminal. there are many people in the middle east, muslims who feel very differently about this. right now you are creating this touch point where people will remember how things played out, and this is not good for the world. the last thing we need is more sectarian violence. at this juncture, yes, china is aware there are forces trying to tear the world apart, there are countries who think bullets and bombs of the solution. they do not believe that. bernard: modi used to be worried about the reaction of muslims in india. his he bothered anymore?

has he written off their support in elections next year? >> modi is very simplistic with muslim support. i do not think anything he has done for nine and half years will get the muslim support. modi's worries should be, because if the conflict goes out of hand, the worse the situation is, his politics is getting challenged by not just muslims but other political parties. he is more worried about his election, but this creates another challenge for him. overall, we need to know it will be in india's best interest if peace and stability comes to that region, because it is an important region for india.

india's economy, india's current policy challenges -- he understands, and the establishment realizes they cannot play this one-sided game in this situation. it is externally important to be looking at the peace and justice in the region, which has a huge impact. it is necessary for modi to realize. bernard: very quickly, does india have an ion how the u.s. has reacted? does india want to signal to the u.s. it support here? >> yes, india is more desperate now to get u.s. support, particularly the challenge from canada and canada's prime minister who accused india of

committing [indiscernible] in canada, and that is support that india needs, support from the u.s., and that made him desperate to get that. and india's balancing game in ukraine puts some ideas for the u.s. that probably helps. bernard: gentlemen, we are out of time. thank you for your perspectives. thank you to all of our guests. and thank you to you watching. you can see the program any time by visiting our website at al jazeera.com. or go to our facebook page, "inside story.: ." for me, bernard smith and the whole team, good night.

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