PM Modi to skip Palestine during his visit to Israel in July

During his visit to Israel in July, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will not be travelling to Palestine, reported Times of India. Contrary to expectations that Modi would include Palestine in his itinerary too, like many ministers did in the past, he will be travelling only to Israel, said the report. However, the report said that India is likely to host Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas before Modi sets off for Israel. "Mr Modi is not visiting Palestine on this occasion. Inshallah, our President will be here this year," Palestinian ambassador to India Adnan Abu Alhaija confirmed to the daily. Meanwhile, National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval met Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his counterpart Brigadier General (retired) Jacob Nagel in Israel in order to lay groundwork for Modi's visit in July this year. India formally recognised Israel on September 17, 1950, after which, it established an immigration office in Mumbai. This was later converted into a trade office and subsequently into a Consulate. Embassies were opened in 1992 when full diplomatic relations were established. Since the upgradation of relations in 1992, defence and agriculture have been the main pillars of bilateral engagement. In recent years, ties have expanded to areas such as S&T, education and homeland security. Political ties between the two countries are friendly. President Pranab Mukherjee visited Israel in October, 2015. Former Israel Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and President Ezer Weizmann visited India in 2003 and 1997 respectively. There have been frequent ministerial level exchanges in the recent past. Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh visited Israel in November, 2014, while the Israeli Agriculture and Defence Ministers visited India in January and February, 2015, respectively.