RAMALLAH, August 18, 2026 (WAFA) — Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates Varsen Aghabekian Shahin met on Tuesday with India's Deputy Foreign Minister Sripriya Ranganathan.

Shahin briefed her guest on the grave situation in the occupied Palestinian territory, highlighting the ongoing killing and starvation in the Gaza Strip, shortages of humanitarian aid, and the failure to fully and sustainably open the crossings to ensure the delivery of essential supplies to the population.

She warned of the dangerous escalation in colonist terrorism in the West Bank and the direct threat it poses to Palestinians’ lives and their presence on their land.

The meeting also addressed Israel's withholding of Palestinian clearance revenues. Shahin stressed that the funds are Palestinian national revenues to which the Palestinian side is entitled, and that their continued withholding undermines the Palestinian Authority's ability to meet its obligations, provide services, and maintain the functioning of its institutions.

Shahin praised the historic relations between Palestine and India and expressed appreciation for India’s consistent support for the Palestinian people’s right to self-determination and to establish an independent state, as well as its commitment to the two-state solution and its positions at the United Nations in support of international law.

She also thanked India for its continued development and humanitarian support to Palestine, including contributions to the health, education, information and communications technology, vocational training, women’s empowerment, community development, and capacity-building sectors.

M.N