Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said it’s in the best interest of both India and the United States to resolve their ongoing tariff dispute, adding that the foundation of the relationship between the two nations remains “very solid”.
In an interaction with visiting Indian journalists in Jerusalem, Netanyahu struck a tone of quiet confidence as he backed India’s growing strategic and economic ties with the US — even as US President Donald Trump’s recent move to impose a 50% tariff on Indian goods has caused fresh strain.
“There is a basic understanding in the relationship between India and the US,” Netanyahu said. “The basis is very solid. It will be in the interest of both countries to arrive at common ground and resolve the tariff issue.”
The Israeli leader, who counts both Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Trump as “terrific friends,” said he might offer Modi some private advice on navigating the issue. “Yes, I would give Modi some advice (on dealing with Trump), but privately,” he quipped.
Netanyahu also made a strong pitch for deepening defence and tech cooperation between India and Israel, revealing that Israeli military equipment had proven itself during Operation Sindoor, which he described as a real-world validation of Israel’s battlefield-tested technologies.
“We don’t develop weapons in labs alone — we test them in battle. The equipment we provided India worked well during Operation Sindoor. Our defence partnership is on a pretty solid foundation,” he said.
Netanyahu also stressed the importance of intelligence-sharing and surveillance tech, areas where Israel is known to have advanced capabilities. “India is a huge country. It’s not easy to monitor every corner. We are ready to help with air surveillance systems and data screening,” he added.
He also expressed a personal desire to visit India soon — “I miss India,” he said — and advocated for direct flights between Tel Aviv and Bengaluru. “We’d like to cut down travel time to six hours. That’s shorter than a flight to San Francisco.”
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With inputs from agencies
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