Police close off a street after an explosion near the Israeli embassy in New Delhi, India, on January 29, 2021. (Photo: AFP)

New Delhi, January 29 (RHC)-- A bomb has exploded outside the Israeli embassy in the Indian capital, New Delhi, on the anniversary of the establishment of relations between India and the Tel Aviv regime.  The New Delhi police confirmed the bomb blast in a statement on Friday, saying that a “very low intensity improvised device” had gone off at 5.05 pm outside the Israel embassy, close to Jindal House, in the high-security zone of the capital.

“No injury to any person was reported and nor was there any damage to property,” police said, adding, however, that the windscreens of three vehicles parked nearby had been blown off.  Police attempted to downplay the incident by describing it as “a mischievous attempt to create a sensation,” according to “initial impressions.”  The district around the embassy was cordoned following the explosion and police and bomb disposal experts were at the scene.

The blast took place on the anniversary of the establishment of relations between India and the Israeli regime in January 1992, when the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) — which is also in power now — upended decades of non-aligned Indian foreign policy to normalize ties with the Tel Aviv regime.  The blast also came as Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other government and military leaders were attending a ceremony only a few kilometers away.

Over the past year, four Arab governments have also normalized their ties with Israel. Those normalization deals have been condemned by Muslim nations as well as all Palestinian factions as betrayals of the Palestinian cause. Back in February 2012, a bomb attack on an Israeli embassy vehicle in Delhi injured four people.

New Delhi is also on high security alert amid protests by farmers against a series of controversial agricultural reform laws that deteriorated into serious unrest this week.

Meanwhile, an unnamed Israeli official told AFP that Tel Aviv considered the incident “a terror attack.” Israeli foreign minister Gabi Ashkenazi also asked for “all necessary security measures” to be taken.

India is a major purchaser of Israeli military equipment.