Rajoub trying to have Israel suspended from FIFA
Excerpt of a column by Luay Shehadeh
Headline: “Palestine and the entire world are waiting for the decision of the FIFA vote”
“The Palestinian Football Association, led by Fatah Movement Central Committee Secretary and Chairman of the Palestinian Football Association Jibril Rajoub, is leading an international campaign through sports to suspend Israel from the international football association, FIFA. The FIFA general assembly is anticipated to hold its 74th annual meeting on Friday, May 17, 2024, in Bangkok, the capital of Thailand. The Palestinian [Football] Association succeeded in adding a proposal and memorandum to the FIFA meeting’s agenda, in which it requests to vote on Israel’s suspension from the international football community (the proposal was delayed by FIFA for a legal review -Ed.)…
The ‘Rajoubian’ form of Palestinian sports diplomacy succeeded thanks to its political attempt to get the entire world to unite behind our Palestinian cause at all the international forums without exception. This has enraged Israel and its government… out of an understanding that the policy and attempts of the Palestinian leadership led by His Honor [PA] President Mahmoud Abbas do not stop at the political sphere, but rather have expanded to all spheres without exception, including sports…
Our raising the issue of sports before the FIFA congress is meant to convey a resounding message to the entire world: ‘Enough, enough, enough!’ The time has come to show a red card to the Israeli occupation due to its criminal and Nazi acts against all components of the Palestinian people, including the Palestinian sports system.”
[Official PA daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida website, May 16, 2024]