Jerusalem, Nov 28: India has turned down an offer by
Israel to send its Crack Commandos to Mumbai, where a Jewish
centre has been taken over in the terrorist attack which have
claimed so far over 160 lives, media reports said here.
"India said a polite no to an offer by Israel for
dispatching counter terror forces," prominent daily Haaretz
reported.
Defence Minister Ehud Barak and Foreign Minister Tzipi
Livni separately offered Israel's assistance to India
yesterday in dealing with terror attacks and its aftermath.
"It appears the Indian government is not interested in
high profile security assistance from Israel. Throughout the
day, the Homefront Command prepared to send an aid delegation
to India but efforts were halted when it became clear that
Delhi was not enthusiastic about the prospect," the daily
said.
Condemning the attacks, the Israeli Defence Minister
stressed that the "attacks were part of the wave of global
terror that Israel was very familiar with and that free world
countries that pursue peace must fight against."
The Israeli Defence Minister also expressed concerns
over the fate of Israelis caught up in the attacks and thanked
the Indian government for its efforts.
Livni called upon her Indian counterpart, Pranab
Mukherjee, to show solidarity and condemn the heinous attacks.
The Israeli move came as Tel Aviv is concerned over an
unspecified number of its nationals missing in Mumbai, which
was struck by coordinated terror attacks.
All over Israel, residents were glued to their TV sets
following Indian commandos operations at Nariman building,
which houses one of the biggest Jewish Centres.
Media reports said six Israelis are believed to be
among those being held in Nariman House.
Another 20 or so Israelis were unaccounted for in the
Indian commercial capital, Foreign Ministry official said.
Israel's Zaka Humanitarian Organisation said, it was
sending a team of eight paramedics to Mumbai.
Livni has asked Pranab for help in getting real-time
information on the developments in Mumbai and for Indian
government's assistance in evacuating Israelis from the areas
where the attacks took place.
Bureau Report
First Published: Friday, November 28, 2008, 00:00