Agencies-Gaza post
Why did Qatar remove Israel from FIFA World Cup??
As the World Cup date approached in Qatar, the Israeli occupation showed a complaining and protesting case against an update on the official website of FIFA in terms of the abolition of the name “Israel” from the map of States and the replacement of the words “occupied Palestinian territories”.
But what is the main reason why Israel’s name was removed from FIFA agents’ list ??
The Palestinian Union had applied for Israel’s expulsion from FIFA last year because of its racist attitudes against the Union and Palestinian teams in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.
First, Israel disregarded the efforts led by the President of the Palestinian Football Federation, Major General Gibril Rajoub, to issue a decision to expel or punish Israel. But as the conference approaches, Israel’s concern over the possibility of punitive decisions against it is heightened by what it does to Palestinian teams and players and their football activities.
According to Yediot Ahrnot, Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs is making global efforts to prevent Israel’s suspension from membership in FIFA.
The Swiss authorities’ initiation of investigations into possible corruption during the 2022 World Cup vote in Qatar took advantage of their fear that a decision against Israel could be issued with country funding.
The Palestinian Football Association made a request to suspend Israel’s participation in the Organization’s activities because of the restrictions imposed on Palestinian players and the impairment of opportunities for the development of the Palestinian sports movement. The vote on the Palestinian request was supposed to take place last year.
In those days, Israel tried to treat the Palestinian demand as extremely important and fell into the cycle of attempts to delegitimize Israel in the international arena.
It had therefore made extensive contacts aimed at thwarting and failing the Palestinian endeavor, so as not to register an achievement in the Palestinian field and a failure of Israel.
Yediot noted that the prospects for Palestinians to succeed in their endeavor were not great, as the resolution required the support of 75 percent of the 209 members’ votes.
“FIFA” President Joseph Blatter had attempted to mediate between Israel and the Palestinians and had met with senior officials of Israel and the Palestinian Authority.
Blatter was said to have reached a four-pronged understanding with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu:
1-The granting of free transit certificates to athletes.
2- Referees and full-time athletes residing in Gaza and the West Bank.
3- Exemption from customs for all sports assets reaching the Palestinian Union.
4-The establishment of Palestinian Authority stadiums in Gaza through a joint committee.
5-The formation of a committee to examine future disputes.
However, Israel rejected a fifth Palestinian requirement to freeze the activity of teams operating in settlements behind the Green Line.
The largest supporter of Israel in FIFA was the European Football Association (UBA), comprising 53 States, including Israel, which declared its rejection of the Palestinian request for fear that it would set a precedent among the disputing States.
If the FIFA Conference is not enough to cause concern in Israel, the future is much and it is not even about the French draft of a resolution in the United Nations Security Council setting out the rules for the solution of the Arab-Israeli conflict on the basis of the two-State solution.
The UN Secretary-General’s envoy for Children’s Affairs in conflict zones recommended that the Israeli army be blacklisted because of its behavior in the 2021 war on Gaza. International Envoy Leila Zerrougui recommended that the Israeli army be blacklisted as States and organizations accused of systematic harm to children, along with Al-Qaida, Boko Haram, ISIS, and the Taliban, and countries in Africa such as the Congo and the Central African Republic.
