PA national football team's slogan on uniform: “From the River to the Sea, Palestine will be free”
The Palestinian Authority is relentless in announcing its goal to eliminate the State of Israel and create a “Palestine” that stretches from the Mediterranean Sea to the Jordan River.
While training in Malaysia, the Palestinian national football team, which is a member of FIFA, posed for photos wearing scarves featuring the PA map of “Palestine” that presents all of Israel with the PA areas as “Palestine” in the colors of the Palestinian flag, indicating political sovereignty over Israel. To spell out the PA message, the text in English on the scarves was explicit:
“From the [Jordan] River to the [Mediterranean] Sea
Palestine will be free"
Posted text: “The ‘Fida’i’ (self-sacrificing fighter) national team reached Malaysia for training camp”
[Palestinian Football Association, Facebook page, Aug. 26, 2024]
The "Fida’i National Team" is the team's official name. The term "Fida’i," literally "self-sacrificing fighter," is the PA's euphemism for Palestinian terrorists.
The PA has promoted the goal of “river-to-sea-Palestine” for decades, and the slogan has been adopted by anti-Israel protesters around the world, during Israel’s current war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip. The slogan is rightly criticized for what it is: A call for the destruction of Israel. To combat this criticism, the PA recently tried to present the slogan as “a call for peace”, but PMW demonstrated that this call has a long history of referring to the total elimination of the State of Israel.
The Palestinian Football Association is headed by top PA official Jibril Rajoub who is known for his support of terror against Israel and denial of Israel’s right to exist as documented by Palestinian Media Watch. During the current war with Hamas, Rajoub has whitewashed Hamas’ massacre and murder of over 1,100 Israelis on October 7, 2023, as a Palestinian “defense war,” and referred to Oct. 7 as an “epic” that included “acts of heroism.” In 2018, PMW complained to FIFA about Rajoub and he was suspended by FIFA from all activities for a year. In response Rajoub lashed out at PMW calling its director "Goebbels of the 21st century."
Rajoub also heads the PLO Supreme Council for Youth and Sports, which organizes summer camps for hundreds of Palestinian kids every year. Among the activities are always map drawing. Kids are taught that “Palestine” really does stretch “from the river to the sea”:
[PLO Supreme Council of Youth and Sports, Facebook page, July 22, 2024]
Rajoub’s PLO Supreme Council for Youth and Sports also distributes numerous plaques featuring the PA map of “Palestine” that includes the entire State of Israel.