By Andrew Warshaw
September 29 – Israel is trying to block moves to suspend five Israeli league teams controversially situated in the occupied West Bank, according to local reports.
Earlier this month, more than 60 European lawmakers demanded that five clubs based on Palestinian land be thrown out of the Israeli domestic league by FIFA or moved inside Israel’s internationally accepted borders.
The MEPs claimed the clubs involved – from the West Bank Israeli settlements of Maale Adumim, Ariel, Kiryat Arba, Givat Zeev and Bikat Hayarden (Jordan Valley) – are in breach of FIFA rules by playing in the Israeli league when the area falls under the Palestinian Football Association. They were later supported by a report from Human Rights Watch which said the Israeli teams were playing “on land unlawfully taken from the Palestinians”.
Both Israel and Palestine have their own national federations and FIFA regulations state that clubs from one member association cannot play on the territory of another member’s association without the latter’s consent – this is not uncommon, for example Wales’ Swansea City in the English Premier League and Cardiff City in the English Championship.
An open letter to FIFA President Gianni Infantino signed by the 66 members of the European Parliament urges FIFA to “rule that settlement clubs either fully relocate within Israel’s internationally-recognised borders or are excluded from the Israeli Football Association”.
According to Israel’s Haaretz newspaper, attempts are being made behind the scenes to stop the issue being discussed at the first full meeting of the new FIFA council meeting in mid-October which could decide to place the matter for voting on the agenda of the organization’s congress next May.
According to Haaretz, Palestinian Football Association chairman Jibril Rajoub visited Zurich a few days ago for talks with senior FIFA officials. The paper said it had learned that Rajoub met with newly-appointed FIFA secretary general, Fatma Samoura.
Israel’s position is reportedly that the Jewish settlements from which the teams come are not in areas controlled by the Palestinians, as Rajoub claims, but in an area of the West Bank under full Israeli security and civil control.
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