Tunisian fans abandon a huge Palestinian flag during the FIFA World Cup match between Tunisia and Australia. (Photo: Video capture)
Written by Issam Khalidi
It is hypocritical whenever Western countries preach democracy and human rights and then act to violate them, especially when it comes to the United States’ relationship with Europe and Israel.
Israeli Foreign Minister Yisrael Katz threatened to revoke Palestinian Football Association President Djibril Lejoub’s travel pass after he called for a ban on Israel’s participation in international tournaments over Gaza. Katz said Lisieux is working around the clock to remove Israel from FIFA.
“We will work to thwart his plans. If he does not stop, we will imprison him in Mukataa (the presidential palace in Ramallah) where he will play stanga alone between the walls. ,” Katz wrote. , refers to a soccer-like game popular among Israeli children.
This is another example of Israel’s arrogance and ability to remain invincible to any setbacks or obstacles that would hinder the genocide it has committed in Gaza. As a result of the blind support of the international community and the inaction of the Arab world, Israel remains impeachable by any means.
Last month, the Palestinian Football Association (PFA) in a letter to FIFA called for appropriate sanctions against the Israeli Football Association (IFA) and its clubs for unprecedented violations of international human rights and humanitarian law in the war against Israel. requested Congress to consider it (in May). In Gaza, these include the killing of soccer players, the destruction of Gaza’s sports infrastructure, and the failure to combat anti-Palestinian discrimination and racism in soccer.
So far, the motion, which is scheduled to be debated at the FIFA General Assembly in Bangkok on May 17, has already gained support from the football associations of Algeria, Iraq, Jordan, Syria and Yemen.
It is worth noting that Israel’s outrage against Lisieux is not new; in 2015 Lisieux informed the FIFA parliament that six clubs from West Bank settlements were participating in the Israeli league. For this reason, the Israeli Football Association requested suspension from international competitions.
Anger against Mr. Lejoux increased on October 7, when he presented a sincere position that differed from that of the PA. “The events of October 7th were a natural response to repression. Neo-Nazis rule Israel. The fascist occupation sinks into its own swamp. October 7th marked a shift in the way we treat the occupation. It should be a point,” he told MBC News.
Of course, it will be difficult for Lisieux to stand up to Israel and the Zionist lobby that supports it and influence FIFA to take action against Israel’s actions. However, we are now witnessing a shift in the world’s response that poses a challenge to Israel in this regard. Therefore, this reaction may extend not only to FIFA itself but also to other international organizations.
FIFA’s position is no different from that of the West in general. It is hypocritical whenever Western countries preach democracy and human rights and then act to violate them, especially when it comes to the United States’ relationship with Europe and Israel. In general, double standards refer to discriminatory behavior that occurs when one group is treated differently than another. Although the situation in Palestine is different from the situation in Ukraine, Western countries continue to ignore the long-standing Palestinian issue and treat the Ukraine issue as a human issue.
As a “civilized” Western country, Ukraine has more privileges than “backward” Arab and Middle Eastern countries. FIFA used its influence to pressure Iran (allowing women to watch men’s soccer matches) and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, but was unable to sanction Israel for genocide. . This double standard is due to the fact that Western countries only take moral positions when their fundamental interests are not at risk. Nothing is more important to the West than its own interests.
The Guinness World Records list shows Israel stealing human organs, exhuming bodies from graves, stealing the sick and disabled, journalists, aid workers, doctors, paramedics, and prisoners of war.
Israel would be at the top of the list of countries bombing schools, universities, hospitals, bakeries, relief centers, mosques, and churches. It would break every world record for atrocities, massacres, and mass murders ever recorded in modern history. If we attended every funeral for every child killed in the ongoing genocide in Palestine, it would take more than 33 years.
What is currently happening in Gaza is beyond anyone’s expectations or imagination. This has never happened in any other war in such a short period of time. There are thousands of pieces of evidence proving that Israel has violated international law during the Gaza war and since the war began. Israel and the West portray the Gaza massacre as a war.
The Gaza war, if it is considered a war, is a war based on facts, which does not cease to exist just because the facts are ignored. It is a war between the occupied people and their oppressors. It is a war between sadness and arrogance, between honesty and hypocrisy, between dignity and humiliation.
In today’s world, the Palestinian issue has become a moral standard, and being neutral means supporting the occupation.
– Issam Khalidi is an independent scholar and author of “History of Sports in Palestine 1900-1948” (Arabic), “One Hundred Years of Football in Palestine” (Arabic and English) and co-edited “Football in the Middle East” . As articles and essays on sports,