India Tomorrow
NEW DELHI: A group of Indian civil society organisations and activists have called upon BRICS leaders to demand an immediate and permanent ceasefire in Gaza and an end to Israeli military operations and settler violence in the occupied West Bank.
In an open appeal issued ahead of the 18th BRICS Summit in New Delhi on September 12–13, the Indo-Palestine Solidarity Network(IPSN) and several prominent civil society figures urged the BRICS member states to move beyond expressions of concern and take concrete political and diplomatic action to protect Palestinian civilians and uphold international law.
The appeal, addressed to the heads of state and government of BRICS countries through Prime Minister Narendra Modi, said that the continuing violence in Gaza and the occupied West Bank represented a grave failure of the international system to protect Palestinian lives and rights.
The organisations particularly stressed the need for a permanent ceasefire in Gaza, unrestricted humanitarian access and a complete end to the siege of the territory.
“The war on Gaza has not ended,” the appeal said, noting that despite a ceasefire declared in October 2025, Palestinian health authorities have continued to report deaths from Israeli strikes. It also highlighted continuing restrictions on humanitarian assistance and shortages of essential medicines in hospitals.
The civil society groups expressed particular concern over the situation in the occupied West Bank, where they said Israeli military operations and settler attacks had intensified. Citing United Nations reporting, the appeal said settler violence had reached unprecedented levels, with Palestinian families being displaced from their land and attacks reported against civilian and religious sites, including mosques. According to the letter, Israeli settlers are resorting to burning mosques in the West Bank areas.
The groups called for an immediate cessation of Israeli military operations in the West Bank, an end to settler attacks and forced displacement, and measures to prevent further annexation of Palestinian territory.
They argued that the situation in the West Bank could not be treated separately from the broader Palestinian question, stressing that the occupation and settlement expansion were central to the continuing conflict.
The appeal also urged BRICS countries to support international measures against Israel until it ends what the signatories described as its occupation, apartheid policies and violations of Palestinian national and human rights.
Among their demands, the organisations called on BRICS to collectively support efforts to suspend Israel from the United Nations until it complies with international law and relevant UN resolutions. They also urged the grouping to take the lead in initiating negotiations for a comprehensive political settlement in which Palestinians would have a central role in determining their future.
The appeal broadened its focus to the wider West Asian crisis, calling for diplomatic action concerning Lebanon and Iran as well as Palestine. It condemned military intervention in the region and urged BRICS to oppose policies aimed at regime change.
The signatories also called for independent international investigations into attacks on civilians, including the strike on a girls’ primary school in Minab, Iran, in which 165 children were killed and urged that any future ceasefire arrangements be multilateral, binding and inclusive.
The civil society groups further called on BRICS members to halt the supply of arms, military technology and other forms of assistance that they said enable continuing violations of international law.
The appeal made a special request to BRICS members from West Asia and the Arab world, including Iran, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates, to use their influence to promote a collective position in favour of Palestinian rights and against the militarisation of the region.
India’s role as host and chair of the 2026 BRICS Summit was also highlighted. The signatories recalled India’s longstanding support for Palestinian self-determination and urged the government to align its foreign policy with its constitutional commitment to international peace, security and respect for international law.
The groups said the BRICS countries, representing nearly half of the world’s population, had a responsibility to use their collective political and economic influence to challenge what they described as longstanding impunity and to promote a just political settlement based on equality, freedom, self-determination and an end to occupation.
With the BRICS Summit taking place in New Delhi, the signatories urged the participating governments to make the permanent cessation of hostilities in Gaza and an end to Israeli military operations, settler violence and forced displacement in the West Bank a central priority.
They called on BRICS leaders to demonstrate that the grouping could translate its growing global influence into concrete action for peace, accountability and the protection of civilian populations in Palestine and across West Asia.
The signatories to the letter include veteran journalist and human rights defender Dr. John Dayal, Dr Ranjan Solomon, Maimoona Mollah, Vineet Tiwari, Dr Joycia Thorat, Sr. Liza Advocate, Anastasia Gill, Ms. Shalini Merrill, Dr Jaya Mehta, Ms Bhavna Sharma and Mr Ishu
