Muslim world has not lived up to its responsibilities in Israel-Palestine conflict: Bukhari

NEW DELHI: Shahi Imam of Delhi's Jama Masjid Syed Ahmed Bukhari on Friday said the Muslim world has not lived up to its responsibilities in the Israel-Palestine conflict and urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to exert diplomatic pressure on Israel to put an end to the war.

The war has already killed more than 21,300 Palestinians and sparked a humanitarian crisis that has left a quarter of Gaza's population starving.

In a statement, Bukhari noted that the Palestinian issue has reached a point where its immediate and permanent solution should be attained in the light of the relevant resolutions of the United Nations, Arab League and the Gulf Cooperation Council based on the "two-state theory".

"The Muslim world has not lived up to its responsibilities in this regard and is not doing what it should and this is very unfortunate. In the end I hope that the prime minister of my country shall, by virtue of his personal relations with the prime minister of Israel, exert diplomatic pressure to put an end to the war and resolve issues," he said.

India voted in favour of a draft resolution in the UN General Assembly that demanded an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas conflict as well as the unconditional release of all hostages earlier this month.

Israel has vowed to dismantle Hamas and bring back more than 100 hostages still held by the militants after their October 7 attack on southern Israel. The assault killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians.