Lineker emphasized his neutral perspective and condemned the silencing of criticism. He rejected accusations of anti-Semitism and urged awareness of the ongoing conflict’s complexities.

“Actually, this issue does not concern me directly. I am not a Muslim. I am not Jewish. I am not Israeli. I am not Palestinian,” Lineker spoke to journalist Mehdi Hasan, about the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.

“So, I see, I think purely from the outside as from a neutral perspective and I cannot think of anything that I have seen worse in my lifetime. The constant images of children losing their lives day in, day out,” he said.

Lineker expressed profound sadness at the loss of innocent lives, stating that the images from Gaza move him to tears.

“We all know that the Hamas incident happened on Oct. 7th. But right now, as soon as you raise your voice against what they (Israel) are doing there, you are accused of being a Hamas supporter or something like that. There is a lot of lobbying to keep people silent,” said the former footballer.

“I do not think it is anti-semitic to say that what Israel is doing is wrong. I do not understand how everyone does not see it that way at the moment. Whatever the reason, whatever started it, we all know that the history of this part of the world goes back much further than Oct. 7,” said Lineker.

Source: AboutIslam.net

The 15th summit of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) started on Saturday in the Gambian capital Banjul.

World leaders from the 57 member countries of the OIC and beyond are expected to attend, said the OIC in a statement ahead of the summit. Representing Türkiye at the event is Hakan Fidan, the country’s foreign minister.

It added that the summit aims to strengthen unity “in collectively addressing the pressing challenges facing the Ummah (Muslim community) and expanding cooperation and solidarity among member countries in the pursuit of our shared goals as enshrined in the charter.”

The OIC added that the summit also aims to “expand our domestic economy and revitalize small and medium enterprises,” in addition to “taking the opportunity to share the wealth of Gambian and African culture with the world.”

The summit, taking place through Sunday with the central theme “Enhancing unity and solidarity through dialogue for sustainable development,” will address global issues, notably the current situation in Palestine and the ongoing Israeli war in the Gaza Strip, which has killed over 34,000 people.

During the summit, three key documents – a draft Palestinian resolution, draft Banjul statement, and the draft final document – will be presented to the Council of Foreign Ministers and subsequently to the summit for discussion.

Source: Anadolu Agency