March 24 – Palestinian football chief Jibril Rajoub (pictured) says he doubts an agreement can be reached next month over Israel’s conduct in the occupied West Bank, a potential blow for FIFA in its ongoing mediation efforts.
FIFA’s main Middle East negotiator, Tokyo Sexwale, has finally presented his long awaited draft report on the dispute over Israeli clubs based in the occupied territories and other festering issues in the region.
FIFA says the various parties will “come back” to Sexwale before he submits his final report to the FIFA Congress in May in Bahrain when the committee’s mandate expires.
But Rajoub isn’t holding out much hope after sitting round the table Wednesday with his Israeli counterpart and Sexwale.
“I don’t think that there will be any kind of agreement (in Bahrain),” Rajoub told AFP.
“The question (is) whether the Israelis are going to abide and respect (international law and FIFA’s statutes) or they want to continue bullying like the bully of the neighbourhood – it is up to them, the ball is in their court.
“I think that now everybody is on the right track. There is a clear dimension of the violation – either the human rights or the UN resolution, or the FIFA statutes.
“I am looking forward and I hope that the Israelis will understand it’s the time for them to correct their violations and abide with the international law.”
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