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FIFA president Gianni Infantino has stated that the international football authority "is not able to solve geopolitical issues" as pressure mounts on football organizations to impose sanctions against the Israeli state.

A recent United Nations commission of inquiry concluded last month that the Israeli government has committed genocide against Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip.

Israel's participation in football was not included as a official topic on the agenda of a FIFA council meeting held on Thursday.

Nonetheless, Infantino touched on the subject in his introductory speech for the gathering at FIFA's main office in Zurich.

The 55-year-old leader said FIFA was dedicated to "harnessing the power of football" to "unite people together in a divided world".

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

"FIFA cannot solve geopolitical problems, but it has the ability to and must advance football around the world by harnessing its connecting, educational, societal and charitable principles."

Israel's national team is currently competing in European qualifiers for next summer's World Cup tournament, while the team Maccabi Tel Aviv are taking part in the European competition.

The human rights organization has urged FIFA, which organizes the World Cup, and UEFA, which organizes continental events, to ban the Israeli Football Association from their competitions.

FIFA vice-president Victor Montagliani said on Wednesday that European football's governing body should take the necessary action.

"Primarily, [Israel] is a member of UEFA, no different than I have to address a member of my area for any given issue. They have to handle 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 group qualifies automatically for the competition, with the runners-up going into the knockout rounds.

The 2026 World Cup is being jointly hosted by the US, the Mexican nation and the Canadian country.

The American leader Donald Trump's government has vowed to oppose any attempts to prevent the Israeli team from taking part.

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

A panel of rights specialists at the UN subsequently urged FIFA and UEFA to remove the Israeli squad from global competitions, saying: "Sports must reject the perception that it is normal operations."

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

Its diplomatic office described the UN report "distorted and inaccurate".