Several prominent Muslim scholars have issued a rare religious decree or "fatwa", calling on all Muslims and Muslim-majority countries to wage "jihad" against Israel after 17 months of devastating war against Palestinians residing in the besieged enclave.

Ali al-Qaradaghi, the secretary general of the International Union Of Muslim Scholars (IUMS), an organisation previously led by Yusuf al-Qaradawi, called on all Muslim countries on Friday “to intervene immediately militarily, economically and politically to stop this genocide and comprehensive destruction, in accordance with their mandate”.

“The failure of the Arab and Islamic governments to support Gaza while it is being destroyed is considered by Islamic law to be a major crime against our oppressed brothers in Gaza,” he said in the decree comprising some 15 points.

Qaradaghi is one of the region’s most respected religious authorities and his decrees carry significant weight among the world’s 1.7bn Sunni Muslims.