The Palestinian Football Association, headed by terrorist Jibril Rajoub, is trying to suspend Israel from international sports, citing alleged human rights abuses.
After launching a vicious diplomatic campaign against Israel at the International Criminal Court, the Palestinians are establishing a new front in the world of sports.
PFA president Jibril Rajoub, a terrorist released from Israeli prison in exchange for hostages, said he has lost patience and was calling on FIFA to show Israel “the red card.”
In May, the Palestinian Football Association (PFA) will ask the FIFA Congress, the supreme body of the international football association, to suspend Israel, accusing its team of hampering soccer activities.
Despite efforts by FIFA president Sepp Blatter to ease tensions, the Palestinians remain frustrated at restrictions they allege Israel imposes on the movement of their athletes between the Gaza Strip and the Palestinian Authority (PA)-controlled areas in Judea and Samaria.
PFA also claims that Israel limits equipment brought into the Palestinian territories and visits by foreign teams and sports personalities.
In 2013, Blatter established a task force, which included himself, the Israeli and Palestinian soccer chiefs and the heads of the European and Asian soccer confederations to examine the Palestinian complaints and try to resolve them.
Reuters reports that Israel cites security concerns for restrictions it imposes on the Palestinians, adding that it has eased travel for Palestinian athletes.
Endless Palestinian Allegations
In December, Rajoub called on FIFA to sanction Israel after Israeli troops entered the offices of the Palestine Football Association. An army spokesman said at the time that soldiers were seeking a wanted individual and were not targeting the premises because of its links to soccer.
The Palestinian draft resolution calls for Israel’s suspension because its actions allegedly “inhibit our ability to develop the game”.
It also complains about racist behavior towards Arab players by some Israeli fans.
Many Israeli soccer teams from predominantly Jewish towns have Arab players on their books. There are also many teams from Arab communities.
PFA claims that Israel violated international law by including five clubs from Israeli communities in Judea and Samaria in domestic league play.
The Palestinian soccer team. (Issam Rimawi/Flash90)
Israeli media reports this month say that Michel Platini, president of UEFA (the European governing body for football), had urged former Israel Football Association chief Avi Luzon, a member of the UEFA executive committee, to enlist Western diplomatic help to avert possible sanctions.
When Palestinian and Israeli boys met in southern Israel for a football match in September, Rajoub stated: “Any activity of normalization in sports with the Zionist enemy is a crime against humanity.”
In February 2014, Rajoub affirmed that the Palestinian Authority’s ruling Fatah party, of which he is a member of, has not abandoned the option of “armed resistance.”
“The confrontation would be on three fronts: launching and escalating resistance; boycotting and isolating Israel; and halting all forms of normalization [with Israel] on the political, academic, trade and economic levels,” Rajoub declared.
In 2013, he called for a nuclear holocaust in Israel. “We as yet don’t have a nuke, but I swear that if we had a nuke, we’d have used it this very morning.”
By: Reuters and United with Israel Staff
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