Palestinian official says India’s Modi to visit West Bank

FILE: PH Modi (Photo By Narendra Modi – State Visit of the President of the Republic of Singapore to India, CC BY-SA 2.0)

RAMALLAH, Palestinian Territory — A top Palestinian official says India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi will make what is described as a historic visit to the West Bank next month.

Majdi Khaldi, an adviser to President Mahmoud Abbas told the Voice of Palestine on Monday that the visit will take place on Feb. 10, with Modi coming to Ramallah. He says it’s the first time an Indian prime minister will visit the Palestinian territories.

Modi’s visit would come just weeks after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was warmly welcomed during a six-day trip to India.

India, for decades a leading country in the nonaligned movement, has developed warm relations with Israel in recent years.

Khaldi says “this is the first Indian PM to visit the Palestinian territories and it is going to be historical.”