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Israel–Thailand relations

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Israeli–Thai relations
Map indicating locations of Israel and Thailand

Israel
Thailand
Diplomatic mission
Israel embassy,BangkokThailand embassy,Tel Aviv

Israel–Thailand relationsrefers to diplomatic and cultural ties between theState of Israeland theKingdom of Thailand.The countries have had official relations since June 1954.[1]The Israeli embassy in Bangkok was established in 1958.[2]Since 1996, Thailand has had an embassy inTel Aviv.[3]Thailand and Israel share a close and friendly relationship, and cooperate on many fields. People-to-people relations between the two countries are also good, as thousands of Thais are employed in Israel, and millions of Israelis have visited and continue to visit Thailand.

History

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On 28 December 1972, a four-member commando of the Palestinian terrorist groupBlack Septemberinvaded the Israeli embassy in Bangkokand held the ambassador and several of his guests as hostages. Two Thai government members,Dawee ChullasapyaandChatichai Choonhavan,who was then deputy foreign minister and became prime minister in 1988, along with the Egyptian ambassador to Thailand, Mustapha el Assawy, negotiated the release of the hostages and instead offered themselves and a number of other Thai officials as surety for the terrorists' safe conduct to Cairo. Then-Israeli prime ministerGolda Meirpraised the Thai government for their diplomacy which made for a bloodless end of the crisis.[4]

In January 2004, Princess Maha ChakriSirindhorninaugurated a joint Israeli-Thai agro-technology experimental farm for irrigation of high value crops atKhon Kaen University.There is a Thai-Israel Chamber of Commerce, Thai-Israel Friendship Foundation, as well as a small community of Israelis living in Thailand.[1]

After the Thai floods of 2011, Israel sent water management experts to Thailand.[citation needed]PrincessChulabhornMahidol is involved in advancing scientific cooperation between the two countries.[citation needed]

In 2012, the two countries signed a trade agreement.[citation needed]

Thailand recognizedPalestinein 2012.[5]During2014 Israel–Gaza conflictthe Thai government supported a peaceful solution to the conflict and called on both sides to show restraint.[6]It further stated that it will continue to support both Israel and Palestine, but will not condone terrorist activity by either side.[7]

Thailand is one of the top tourist destinations for Israelis, and Israel became popular for Thai migrant workers. More than 20 thousand Thais are employed in Israel in agriculture and in Asian restaurants as cooks. They work legally under the aegis of the Thai–Israeli bilateral agreement, the Thai-Israel Cooperation on the Placement of Workers (TIC).[8]

In September 2014, the two countries signed a cooperation agreement.[9]

In July 2015, Israel and Thailand signed a medical cooperation agreement.[10]

A delegation from the Thailand industrial association visited Israel in 2015.[11]

The Thai public is generally apathetic to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, but theMuslim minorityin the country, nearly four million, is generally sympathetic to Palestine.[12][13]

In June and July 2018, Israeli commandos and technology supported Thai Navy SEALs during the highly publicisizedTham Luang cave rescuemission. The operation was a complete success, rescuing the entire soccer team.

As of 14 October 2023, during the2023 Israel–Hamas war,at least 49 Thai nationals have been killed by Hamas.[14]Thai Prime ministerSrettha Thavisinissued his condolences to Israel following the initial attack by Hamas, and prepared resources for emergency evacuations of Thai citizens.[15]As of December 1 2023, eight Thai hostages remain in Gaza.[16]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ab"Thailand Virtual Jewish History Tour".Jewish Virtual Library.Retrieved29 October2017.
  2. ^Israel embassy in BangkokArchived2012-03-19 at theWayback Machine
  3. ^Thai embassy in Tel AvivArchived2009-06-25 at theWayback Machine
  4. ^King Bhumibol Adulyadej: A Life's Work,Editions Didier Millet, 2012, p. 126
  5. ^"Thailand officially recognizes Palestinian statehood".Haaretz.Associated Press. 2012-01-20.Retrieved2017-10-29.
  6. ^"Thai government statement of the Gaza war".Ministry of Foreign Affairs Thailand(Press release). 18 July 2014.Retrieved2017-10-29.
  7. ^"Thailand to continue to support both Israel and Palestine".NNT. 22 July 2014.Retrieved2017-10-29– via Thai Visa.
  8. ^Chia, Jasmine (29 October 2017)."Land of promise, last resort".Bangkok Post.Retrieved29 October2017.
  9. ^"Israel and Thailand sign a cooperation agreement".Archived fromthe originalon 2016-10-26.
  10. ^"Thailand and Israel sign a medical cooperation agreement".NNT. July 28, 2015.Retrieved29 October2017– via Pattaya Mail.
  11. ^"Thailand industrial association delegation visited Israel".Archived fromthe originalon 2016-09-27.
  12. ^"Thai Muslims protest against Israel".The Nation.Archived fromthe originalon 2011-09-14.
  13. ^"Thai Muslims protest in Bangkok against Israeli military operation in Gaza".Islamic Voice of Turkey.15 July 2014.Retrieved2017-10-29.
  14. ^"Foreign victims of Hamas attack".BBC News.14 Oct 2023.Retrieved2023-10-20.
  15. ^สุวรรณทิชากร, พรทิพย์."ไทยประณามเหตุโจมตีอิสราเอล นายกฯทวิตยันดูแลคนไทยสำคัญที่สุด".เดลินิวส์(in Thai).Retrieved2023-10-20.
  16. ^"Bombs are falling on Gaza again. Who are the hostages still remaining in the besieged strip?".AP News.2023-12-01.Retrieved2024-10-05.
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