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FIFA president Gianni Infantino declared that the international football authority "cannot solve political issues" as calls increase on football organizations to take action against the Israeli state.

A recent United Nations commission of inquiry concluded last month that the Israeli government has carried out mass atrocities against Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip.

The involvement of Israel in soccer was omitted as a formal item on the schedule of a FIFA council meeting held on Thursday.

However, Infantino mentioned the issue in his opening remarks for the gathering at FIFA's main office in Zurich.

The mid-fifties leader said FIFA was committed to "harnessing the power of football" to "bring people together in a divided world".

"Our concerns are with those who are suffering in the many conflicts that exist around the world today, and the primary message that football can convey right now is one of peace and unity," the FIFA president said.

"FIFA cannot solve geopolitical challenges, but it has the ability to and should advance football around the world by harnessing its unifying, educational, societal and humanitarian values."

The Israeli squad is currently competing in qualification matches for next year's men's World Cup, while the team Maccabi Tel Aviv are playing in the Europa League.

Amnesty International has urged FIFA, which runs the global tournament, and UEFA, which organizes continental events, to suspend the Israeli Football Association from their tournaments.

FIFA deputy leader Victor Montagliani stated on the previous day that UEFA should take the necessary action.

"Primarily, [Israel] is a member of UEFA, similar to I have to address a member of my area for whatever reason. They have to deal with that," he said.

The Israeli team are in third place in their World Cup qualifying group - organized by UEFA - six points behind behind front-runners Norway.

The group winner from each pool qualifies automatically for the competition, with the runners-up entering the knockout rounds.

The 2026 World Cup is being co-hosted by the United States, the Mexican nation and the Canadian country.

The US president Donald Trump's administration has vowed to fight any efforts to block Israel from participating.

The United Nations findings said there were reasonable grounds to determine four of the five atrocities defined under international law had been carried out by Israeli forces in Gaza since the start of the war in last year.

A panel of human rights experts at the UN subsequently called on FIFA and UEFA to remove Israel's national team from international football, stating: "Sports must refuse the notion that it is business as usual."

The Israeli government has consistently denied that its actions in Gaza amount to genocide and says they are justified as a means of self-defence.

Its diplomatic office called the UN report "distorted and false".