The recent visit of Narendra Modi to Israel and his warm welcome by Benjamin Netanyahu is much more than a simple diplomatic exercise; it heralds the establishment of a strategic axis that is deepening and changing the security landscape in South Asia and beyond. In the midst of an unparalleled wave of international objection to the military operation conducted by Israel in Gaza, and as India is being called into question because of its policy in Kashmir, the politics and content of this alliance come off as disturbing concerns to the future of legal treaties, the diplomatic stability within the region, and the formative global order.
India, which had been a vocal ally of Palestinian self-determination, has, in recent years, especially since 2014, adjusted its foreign policy to focus on a strategic and defence partnership with Israel. It is not just a symbolic change, but institutional, technological, and highly militarized. During the visit, the two parties stressed greater cooperation in defence, artificial intelligence, and other military technologies, rooted in a shared vision of security based on technological excellence and hard power projection.
The centre of this relationship is the growing defence alliance that is gradually encroaching on Pakistan’s strategic space. The Indian intentions to purchase Israeli drones, missile systems, and laser-guided air defence technologies indicate the development of a multi-layer military shield that was clearly meant to counter the deterrence resources of Pakistan. This is not a non-partisan technological improvement, but an effort to shift the regional power setup. To Pakistan, a nation already operating in a precarious security environment due to the 2025 crisis with India, these add to the current asymmetries and initiate an arms race that poses a threat to strategic stability.
However, this military alliance has more than its traditional military estimates. The meeting between Modi and Netanyahu is a more ideological convergence between securitized nationalism and pluralism, and their justification of the use of force as one of their main instruments of governance. Both leaders contextualize their policies in the rhetoric of counterterrorism and make reference to the policies of zero tolerance, which tends to blur the distinction between justifiable security needs on the one hand and oppression of civilian populations on the other.
Indian policies in Kashmir have attracted the negative attention of human rights groups and the international community because they are marked by high military presence, communication restrictions, and demographic insecurities. On the same note, the current activities of Israel in Gaza have been highly criticized on unbalanced application of force and civilian deaths. Although the context of every war is different in terms of its historical and political context, the similarity lies in the normalization of extraordinary actions and the lack of accountability.
The Modi-Netanyahu alignment can therefore be a kind of mutual legitimization agreement where both states play off of the other to derive political and strategic affirmation of their own actions. In solidifying the ties at a time when Israel is experiencing diplomatic isolation, India implicitly gives its approval to its policies, with Israel supporting India, giving credence to its account on Kashmir. This mutual legitimization undermines international attempts to enforce international humanitarian law and encourages other states to follow suit.
In the case of Pakistan, the effects are both long-term and short-term. In strategic terms, the introduction of Israeli technology into India’s military structure makes India stronger in surveillance and precision strikes, as well as in missile defence. This may also effectively challenge the broader strategic stability in South Asia, therefore forcing Islamabad to invest in countermeasures, hence driving the arms race in the region. Pragmatically, the evolving nexus in the relationship between India and Israel makes Pakistan’s attempt to secure international backing on its Kashmir issue more difficult because geopolitical alliances are shifting to interest-based relationships as opposed to normative alliances.
In addition, some concerns are enhanced by the wider regional environment. Modi’s visit to the Middle East comes at a time of extreme tension, including the conflict and the increasing prospects confrontation between Iran and the United States. With that balancing act, the formation of new strategic alliances, such as the so-called hexagon of alliances (which includes Israel and India), is an indicator of a geopolitical reorganization that may have a ripple effect on South Asia.
More importantly, this shifting relationship is also an indication of the change in the world order, which was based on the rule-centered structures to the power-based politics. Strategic pragmatism and technological competition are increasingly becoming dominant over the traditional focus on international law, human rights, and multilateralism. In this regard, the India-Israel relation can be used as an example of how states negotiate their way- and sometimes even bypass normative restrictions with the goal of achieving their interests.
However, one should also move past rhetorical denunciations and engage in an analytical discussion of the policy reactions. In the case of Pakistan, this is necessitated by a multi-dimensional approach that blends diplomatic outreach, investment in technology, and internal resilience. Enhancing relations with states that share similar interests, especially in the Muslim world, remains vital, but it should be supplemented by measures to improve indigenous defence forces and economic security.
The international community is as well subjected to a severe test. The selectivity with which the international norms are applied is a detriment to the norms. When the perpetration of violations in Gaza and Kashmir can be responded to with silence based on geopolitical reasons, this will create a negative precedent that undermines the very existence of the global order.
Finally, Modi-Netanyahu convergence never involves only two countries, but it is also a symbol of another transformation in international politics. It is indicative of a world in which strategic alliances are becoming increasingly dominant over ethics, technological advancement over human safety and security, and in which defence and domination become more and more intertwined.
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