AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi said on Monday that by skipping Palestine during his visit to Israel, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi was strengthening the Jewish state's occupation of Palestinian territories.

With Modi set to become the first Indian Prime Minister to visit Israel, the Hyderabad MP said his three-day tour would mark a major shift in India's foreign policy on Palestine.

Owaisi said support to Palestinian cause had been the cornerstone of India's policy for over seven decades.

He said by not visiting Palestinian territories occupied by Israel and by not meeting Palestinian authorities, Modi would help Israeli propaganda effort and strengthen its occupation of West Bank and Gaza.

He recalled that whenever Indian authorities visited Israel, they also visited Palestine. He termed as "very unfortunate" India's decision to abstain from voting at the UN Human Rights Council which found that Israel had committed war crimes.

This comes days after Owaisi termed Modi's condemnation of killing people in the name of cow protection, as mere lip service.

The Hyderabad MP told reporters that cow vigilantes were getting help from the BJP and the Sangh Parivar.

"It is mere lip service. Attacks have only increased," Owaisi had said, referring to incidents of lynching in different parts of the country.

He said it was strange that right to life was being bestowed on an animal but human beings were being lynched.

He said responsibility to ensure rule of law lies with the government.

The Lok Sabha member also announced that he will introduce a private member bill during monsoon session to control 'mobocracy and lynching'.

Speaking at Sabarmati Ashram in Ahmedabad, Modi had said that killings in the name of cows were unacceptable and that nobody had the right to take the law in their hands.

IANS inputs