Palestinian Football Association President Jibril Rajoub refused to stand next to Israeli Football Association Vice President Bassem Sheikh Suleiman in a tense moment during the FIFA Congress on Thursday.
FIFA President Gianni Infantino called both men to the podium, but Rajoub refused to approach Suleiman, who is an Arab from the 1948 territories.
Infantino placed his hand on Rajoub’s arm and gestured for him to approach Suleiman, but to no avail.
When asked what Rajoub said when he refused, Palestinian Football Association Vice President Susan Shalabi, who was present in the hall, said, “I cannot shake hands with someone brought in by the Israelis to whitewash their fascism and genocide! We are suffering.”
Israel denies committing genocide in the Gaza Strip.
Following that, Infantino went up to the podium and said, “We will work together, President Rajoub and Vice President Suleiman. Let us work together to give hope to the children. These are complex issues.”
In remarks after the conference, Susan Shalabi said that Infantino's attempt to push Suleiman and Rajoub to shake hands showed a lack of appreciation for the speech of the Palestinian Football Association president, in which he renewed his demand that Israeli clubs not be allowed to establish teams in settlements in the West Bank.
She added, “Putting him in a position where he is asked to shake hands with the other after all that has been said completely empties the speech delivered by General (Rajoub) of its content.”
She continued, “He spent about 15 minutes trying to explain the importance of the rules, and how this could easily become a precedent in which the rights of member associations are brazenly violated, and then the matter is swept under the rug as if nothing had happened. It was absurd.”
The Palestinian Football Association filed an appeal last week with the Court of Arbitration for Sport against FIFA's decision not to impose sanctions on Israel over clubs based in settlements in the occupied West Bank.
The Palestinian Football Association has long argued that clubs based in Israeli settlements in the West Bank, territory claimed by Palestinians as part of a future state, should not participate in leagues organized by the Israeli Football Association.
FIFA said last month that it would not take any action against the Israeli Football Association or Israeli clubs, noting that the legal status of the West Bank remains unresolved under general international law.
