March 2 – Palestinian football chief Jibril Rajoub, a hero in his homeland but who has long been accused by his critics of supporting terrorism against Israel, has been denied entry to Egypt in what appears to be a politically-motivated move.
Rajoub, a high-ranking member of the central committee of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’s Fatah movement, was deported on Monday according to Reuters, quoting sources at Cairo airport.
He was apparently told he was on a no-entry list and put on a flight back to Jordan.
No reason was given but another Fatah official said on his Facebook page that Rajoub had been invited by the Arab League to attend a conference at the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh on extremism. After learning that Rajoub had been refused entry on the orders of the Egyptian intelligence services, the Palestinian delegation withdrew from the event.
Rajoub is the key figure in the ongoing dispute over Middle East football and the leading protagonist for having Israel sanctioned by FIFA.
He said he was “surprised by the Egyptian security decision to ban me from entering Egypt.”
Apparently the Egyptian minister of youth and sports had been waiting at the airport to meet him and Palestinian media say his treatment was a cynical attempt to send a message to the Palestinian leadership.
Egypt, one of only two Arab countries to have signed a peace treaty with Israel, plays a major role in the Arab League, which is based in Cairo.
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