A group of Nepali civil society members have urged Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli to take a clear and moral stand against what they described as the ongoing ‘genocide’ in Gaza perpetrated by the Israeli government under Benjamin Netanyahu.

In a letter addressed to the Prime Minister on Thursday, nine well-known figures expressed anguish over the government’s ‘reluctance’ to speak forcefully against the Israeli military campaign, which has reportedly killed over 60,000 Palestinians, including nearly 20,000 children.

They accused Israel of using starvation, blockades, and indiscriminate bombings as weapons of war, and called on the Nepali government to uphold its longstanding policy of non-alignment and principles of Panchsheel by publicly condemning the violence.

“Nepal’s silence on the Gaza genocide diminishes us as a modern-day nation-state,” the letter reads, calling the ongoing violence a clear violation of international humanitarian law. The signatories praised nations in The Hague Group, such as South Africa and Indonesia, for taking firm legal and diplomatic action against Israel.

While the letter acknowledged the killing of 10 Nepali students and the abduction of Bipin Joshi in the Hamas-led attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, it said this “does not prevent us from condemning Israel’s wholesale murder of tens of thousands of Palestinian innocents.”

The signatories also called on the government to limit diplomatic contact with the Israeli Embassy to consular issues and the safety of Nepalis in Israel, halt new bilateral agreements during the war, and bar the entry of Israeli soldiers linked to war crimes.

They urged the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to reflect Nepal’s independent foreign policy and said Nepal must not appear ‘overly solicitous’ to Israeli interests while remaining silent on widespread civilian suffering.

The nine prominent individuals from Nepal’s civil society who have signed the letter are Dr Renu Adhikari, Mohna Ansari, Kanak Mani Dixit, Kul Chandra Gautam, Chaitanya Mishra, Bimala Rai Paudyal, Bishow Parajuli, Sushil Pyakurel, and Surya Prasad Shrestha.