By Andrew Warshaw
November 2 – The festering, simmering dispute in Middle East football has taken another twist with the head of the Palestinian FA warning he will attempt to have Israel punished by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) if FIFA fails to find a solution over the delicate issue of Israeli clubs based in the West Bank.
At last month’s FIFA Council meeting, officials failed to take a decisive stand despite the intervention of the United Nations who have stated their opposition to six small-time Israeli clubs playing in Israeli West Bank settlements, alongside travel restrictions imposed on Palestinian players by Israel.
FIFA president Gianni Infantino says he views the conflict as a priority and without any prior media alert, FIFA brought the two parties together on Tuesday. Seven hours of talks failed to achieve a breakthrough, however.
“Israel didn’t even come up with any serious argument,” said Palestine Football Association (PFA) President Jibril Rajoub (pictured). “I don’t think there will be any agreement.”
Infantino has charged South African businessman and anti-apartheid leader Tokyo Sexwale to lead a monitoring committee trying to forge an agreement on the dispute.
Speaking after the latest meeting of that body, Rajoub said the PFA continues to “trust” FIFA and will wait for the body’s council to make a definitive ruling on the dispute, which could come when the council meets next in January.
But if FIFA continues to drag its feet, Rajoub vowed to take the fight further.
“If they are not going forward, we can go to the CAS. We will not give up. We will never accept any compromise.”
Israeli settlements are considered illegal under international law, although Israel disputes this.
Rajoub has even described Israel’s actions a Crimea-style solution referring to Russia’s annexation of the area, saying Tuesday’s meeting was “long, arduous and intensive”.
He told Reuters restrictions on the movement of players between the Israeli-occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip continued to be an issue. “The situation is going from bad to worse, nothing is changing,” he said.
Israel cites security concerns for the restrictions, and the Israeli FA has argued that it has no control over such matters, which fall under the jurisdiction of the security authorities.
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