India censors Middle East Eye journalist on X ahead of Modi’s Israel visit

[Modi and Netanyahu’s bromance blossoms]

Ahead of Prime Minister Narendra [Modi’s][1] visit to [Israel tomorrow, India][2] [ordered][3] *X* to block access to writings by *Middle East Eye* journalist Azad Essa. Moreover, this arm-twisting move was justified by the legal prohibition cited by India’s government.

Azad Essa, a US-based South African journalist and senior reporter with *MEE*, has said that he believes his account was blocked due to his reporting on India-Israel ties. For Essa, the move reflects India’s iron-fisted clampdown on journalistic freedoms in India, accusing *X* of complicity and censorship.

> India blocks Middle East Eye journalist's X account
> 
> Azad Essa, a senior reporter with Middle East Eye, says he has been routinely targeted by right-wing elements in the country
> 
> — Middle East Eye (@MiddleEastEye) [February 23, 2026][4]

Essa is the author of “*Hostile Homelands: The New Alliance Between India and Israel*” published in 2023. The book chronicles India’s and Israel’s blossoming love affair. Additionally, it describes their [deepening][5] military and ideological ties.

The book [argues][6] that while India and Israel only restored diplomatic ties in 1992, they maintained surreptitious military ties long before the 90s. In fact, Essa’s research suggests that Israel supplied weapons to India during its wars with China (1962) and Pakistan (1965 and 1971).

The alliance between India and Israel, he argues, promulgates aggressive nationalism to suppress Palestinian and Kashmiri aspirations.

## Modi’s Israel visit slammed

Over the weekend, India’s prime minister Modi, taking to *X*, gushed about Netanyahu, calling him a friend, and expressing how he’s looking forward to meeting Netanyahu tomorrow.

These sentiments aren’t shared by the broader Indian public, as *Al Jazeera* notes:

> Activists in India are protesting PM Narendra Modi’s planned visit to Israel, saying it goes against the values of a nation that once endured British colonial occupation.

> Activists in India are protesting PM Narendra Modi’s planned visit to Israel, saying it goes against the values of a nation that once endured British colonial occupation. [pic.twitter.com/hPK3oJrhpp][7]
> 
> — Al Jazeera English (@AJEnglish) [February 24, 2026][8]

Underlining brewing opposition inside India to the Modi-Netanyahu alliance, *People’s Dispatch* also reported that:

> Rallies were organised in different parts of India on Feb 15 to protest against the upcoming visit of far-right PM Narendra Modi to Israel, as it continues its genocide in Gaza in complete violation of the ceasefire it agreed to in November.

> Rallies were organized in different parts of India on Feb 15, to protest against the upcoming visit of far-right PM Narendra Modi to Israel, as it continues its genocide in Gaza in complete violation of the ceasefire it agreed to in November.[https://t.co/vHrE7pEYhC][9]
> 
> — Peoples Dispatch (@peoplesdispatch) [February 18, 2026][10]

Whereas *Vox Ummah*, commenting on the impact of Modi’s visit, wrote that it:

> formalises a security partnership built on arms sales and shared control practices, with consequences visible in Gaza and Kashmir. Ya Allah protect our Ummah

> Yesterday, officials of the occupation confirmed that Narendra Modi will travel later this month to meet Benjamin Netanyahu. The visit takes place as the confirmed death toll in Gaza has passed 72,000. While announcing Modi’s visit, Netanyahu said, “Israel is enormously popular… [pic.twitter.com/u9D5ASBa8l][11]
> 
> — VoxUmmah (@VoxUmmah) [February 16, 2026][12]

## The Infamous Previous Visit and the Epstein Files

As the *Canary* has previously [reported][13], India’s elite is also known for rubbing shoulders with Epstein – as the paper trail of Epstein files, released by the US DOJ, shows.

On July 9, 2017, three days after Modi’s official visit to Israel, Epstein wrote an [email][14] saying that Modi had “danced and sang” in Israel for the benefit of US president Trump. However, the irony, which escapes Modi fanboys, is that the Indian leader’s 2017 visit to Israel [coincided][15] with Pegasus spyware attacks on Indian activists.

> [#WATCH][16]: PM Narendra Modi and his Israeli counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu at Dor beach in Haifa, Israel [#PMModiInIsrael][17] [pic.twitter.com/6h5BXqxYAW][18]
> 
> — Republic (@republic) [July 6, 2017][19]

Just three days before, on July 6, Modi and Netanyahu shared a “[romantic walk][20]” along Haifa beach – from which countless Palestinian families have been ethnically cleansed. It was the first time an Indian Prime Minister had visited Israel. Consequently, this [smashed any ][21]possibility of solidarity with Palestine. Odd, one might think, for a country grappling with the shadow of Western imperialism.

Modi is also mentioned in another email suggesting that, in 2019, Epstein [encouraged][22] Steve Bannon to meet with him to [counter ][23]China. He told Bannon that Modi was a strategic opportunity. Furthermore, he mockingly asked him to “look at your underwear” to see if it was made in China or India.

> [#WATCH][24]: PM Narendra Modi and his Israeli counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu at Dor beach in Haifa, Israel [#PMModiInIsrael][25] [pic.twitter.com/6h5BXqxYAW][26]
> 
> — Republic (@republic) [July 6, 2017][27]


Modi and Netanyahu’s adulterous love affair is smothering popular struggles, from Palestine to [Kashmir][28]. Indifferent to the suffering of Palestinians and India’s indigenous communities, they shake their blood-stained hands over fresh, secret military deals. Azad Essa, it seems, won’t be the first or last journalist to be iced out.

*Featured image via the Canary*

By [The Canary][29]

[1]: https://www.thecanary.co/global/world-analysis/2025/12/11/modi-doubles-down/
[2]: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/2/22/modis-israel-visit-timeline-of-indias-relations-with-israel-palestine
[3]: https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/india-moves-block-middle-east-eye-journalist-x
[4]: https://twitter.com/MiddleEastEye/status/2026011323364946067?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
[5]: https://www.thecanary.co/global/world-analysis/2025/09/28/israel-india-trade-deal/
[6]: https://www.newarab.com/features/hostile-homelands-new-alliance-between-india-and-israel
[7]: https://t.co/hPK3oJrhpp
[8]: https://twitter.com/AJEnglish/status/2026175261860106587?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
[9]: https://t.co/vHrE7pEYhC
[10]: https://twitter.com/peoplesdispatch/status/2024121333974520040?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
[11]: https://t.co/u9D5ASBa8l
[12]: https://twitter.com/VoxUmmah/status/2023507878292635683?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
[13]: https://www.thecanary.co/global/world-analysis/2026/02/09/epstein-links-indian/
[14]: https://www.justice.gov/epstein/files/DataSet%2011/EFTA02645381.pdf
[15]: https://www.counterfire.org/article/the-incarcerations-bk-16-and-the-search-for-democracy-in-india-book-review/
[16]: https://twitter.com/hashtag/WATCH?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
[17]: https://twitter.com/hashtag/PMModiInIsrael?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
[18]: https://t.co/6h5BXqxYAW
[19]: https://twitter.com/republic/status/882934342393094145?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
[20]: https://www.vox.com/world/2017/7/6/15929760/india-israel-palestine-modi-netanyahu-middle-east-bromance
[21]: https://www.thecanary.co/global/world-analysis/2025/09/28/israel-india-trade-deal/
[22]: https://www.justice.gov/epstein/files/DataSet%2010/EFTA01615873.pdf
[23]: https://www.thecanary.co/global/world-analysis/2026/02/05/epstein-chats-show/
[24]: https://twitter.com/hashtag/WATCH?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
[25]: https://twitter.com/hashtag/PMModiInIsrael?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
[26]: https://t.co/6h5BXqxYAW
[27]: https://twitter.com/republic/status/882934342393094145?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
[28]: https://x.com/zoo_bear/status/2024865635470016812
[29]: https://www.thecanary.co/author/thecanary/


https://www.thecanary.co/global/2026/02/24/india-censors-middle-east-eye-journalist/