Israel outlawed the terror group Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), which is located in Pakistan and was sanctioned by the UN, before the 15th anniversary of the Mumbai attacks.
The Israeli embassy declared in a statement that Tel Aviv had officially finished all required procedures and had "satisfied all required checks and regulations to the result of introducing Lashkar-e-Taiba into the Israeli list of illegal terror organisations," despite not having been asked to do so by the Indian government.
“To symbolise the marking of the 15th year of commemoration of the Mumbai terror attacks, the state of Israel has listed Lashkar-e-Taiba as a terror organisation,” it said in a statement. Israel has been pushing India for a similar ban on Hamas whose assault on Israel on October 7 was condemned by India as a terrorist attack. Hamas has been proscribed by the US, EU, UK and Canada, but not by the UNSC.
Israel hopes that by imposing the ban, it will allay Indian worries that it has been too preoccupied with Iranian "terrorism" and not enough with cross-border terrorism carried out by Pakistan.
“While Israel only lists terror organisations that are operating against it from within or around its borders, or in a similar manner to India and those globally recognised by UNSC or US state department, the Israeli ministries of defence and foreign affairs have jointly worked towards an expedited and extraordinary listing of LeT to highlight the importance of a unified global front in combating terrorism,” said Israel in its announcement.