Indian PM Modi to visit Israel

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to begin his two-day visit to Israel on February 25 (Wednesday), nine years after his first trip to the country in 2017.

During the two-day visit, Prime Minister Modi is expected to address the Knesset, Israel’s parliament – a rare honour that underscores the political relations btween the two countries. In 2015, former President Pranab Mukherjee addressed the Knesset during the first-ever visit by an Indian head of state to Israel.

Announcing the visit, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu wrote on X that the bond between Israel and India represents “a powerful alliance between two global leaders,” rooted in innovation, security, and a shared strategic vision.

Modi responded by affirming that India “deeply values the enduring friendship with Israel, built on trust, innovation, and a shared commitment to peace and progress,” and said he looked forward to detailed discussions in Jerusalem.

Netanyahu also announced that Israel plans to build a network of allied nations called the ‘Hexagaon’ in or around the Middle East to collectively stand against what he called “radical” adversaries. He said that India would be part of the “axis of nations that see eye to eye” with Israel.

During the visit, Modi will also address Indians in Israel and hold bilateral talks with his counterpart Both sides are expected to sign agreements on technology cooperation, security collaboration, artificial intelligence, agriculture, water management, trade, defence, and strategic cooperation.

Thank you, my friend, Prime Minister Netanyahu.

I fully agree with you on the bond between India and Israel as well as the diverse nature of our bilateral relations. India deeply values the enduring friendship with Israel, built on trust, innovation and a shared commitment to… https://t.co/snGra7RB3g

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) February 22, 2026

Prime Minister Modi’s visit follows months of intensive diplomatic engagement between the two sides.  Indian External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, and Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal have both visited Israel in recent months, while several Israeli ministers have travelled to India.

Israel also sent a large government and private-sector delegation to the AI Impact Summit in New Delhi, highlighting growing convergence in emerging technologies, particularly artificial intelligence.

The visit comes after Netanyahu’s planned trip to India in December 2025 was postponed and later cancelled. Netanyahu had earlier paid a six-day visit to India in 2018.

His upcoming visit also comes just days after India, together with more than 100 other nations, condemned Israel’s expansion in the occupied West Bank after New Delhi initially appeared to hesitate about adding its name to the criticism.

Under Modi, India has been cautious in criticising Israel’s actions on Gaza, even before the war began in 2023, although it has officially maintained support for a sovereign Palestinian state alongside Israel backing the two-state solution.

In 2016, India abstained from a UN vote which sought to bring Israel before the International Criminal Court (ICC) for its alleged war crimes during its conflict with Gaza in 2014.

During Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza, India condemned the humanitarian crisis in the enclave but repeatedly abstained from UN resolutions calling for a ceasefire. In 2024, India also abstained from a UN Human Rights Council resolution which called for an arms embargo on Israel.

Modi’s visit to Israel, too, has drawn condemnation from the opposition Congress party and others, who have accused him of reversing decades of Indian support for the Palestinian cause.