digitalzygot
Senator (1k+ posts)
AL-RAM: The Palestinian Olympic Committee has declared open war against Israel in a dispute over movement restrictions that could poison international football.
The uproar threatens to reverse years of relatively good relations that had seen Palestinian football rise to prominence with the construction of a new stadium and a high-profile visit by FIFA head Sepp Blatter in 2008. The dispute erupted earlier this week when six players on the national football team from Gaza who have been living and playing in the West Bank were turned back at the Jordanian border on their way to a friendly in Mauritania.
The Olympic committee will engage in an open war with the occupation to guarantee the freedom of movement of Palestinian players, teams and club members in order to allow us to establish sporting institutions on our own land, chairman Jibril Rajub told reporters on Wednesday.The Olympic committee is the most senior sporting body in the Palestinian territories.The former security chief in the Western-backed Palestinian Authority has been widely praised for revitalising Palestinian football and had been mostly successful in securing Israeli permits for his players.But on Wednesday he joined dozens of protesters at a tent outside Faisal al-Husseini Stadium in the West Bank town of Al-Ram near Jerusalem, to protest the Israeli restrictions.
Midfielder Suleiman al-Obeid, one of the six players stopped at the border, has been living in the West Bank for the last year and a half.He has not returned to Gaza to visit his wife and two children during that period for fear he would be prevented from rejoining his team in the West Bank.He has yet to see his daughter, who was born nine months ago.When I heard that we would be forbidden from travelling I was very upset, because any athlete dreams of wearing his national jersey in international forums, he told AFP
We want to be able to travel freely with our families, just like athletes anywhere else in the world.The Israeli permits only allow the six to play for the national team, so when they travel through the West Bank and play with local clubs they risk being arrested and sent back to Gaza.
Ahmad Tibi, an Arab member of the Israeli parliament, said he had filed a complaint with Israel's public security ministry regarding the permits. Israel is trying to set Palestinian sports back after they have taken a great leap forward, he said.The first principle of international sports is that they should be based on fair play, so where is the fairness in keeping Palestinian players from freely travelling with their team? AFP
The uproar threatens to reverse years of relatively good relations that had seen Palestinian football rise to prominence with the construction of a new stadium and a high-profile visit by FIFA head Sepp Blatter in 2008. The dispute erupted earlier this week when six players on the national football team from Gaza who have been living and playing in the West Bank were turned back at the Jordanian border on their way to a friendly in Mauritania.
The Olympic committee will engage in an open war with the occupation to guarantee the freedom of movement of Palestinian players, teams and club members in order to allow us to establish sporting institutions on our own land, chairman Jibril Rajub told reporters on Wednesday.The Olympic committee is the most senior sporting body in the Palestinian territories.The former security chief in the Western-backed Palestinian Authority has been widely praised for revitalising Palestinian football and had been mostly successful in securing Israeli permits for his players.But on Wednesday he joined dozens of protesters at a tent outside Faisal al-Husseini Stadium in the West Bank town of Al-Ram near Jerusalem, to protest the Israeli restrictions.
Midfielder Suleiman al-Obeid, one of the six players stopped at the border, has been living in the West Bank for the last year and a half.He has not returned to Gaza to visit his wife and two children during that period for fear he would be prevented from rejoining his team in the West Bank.He has yet to see his daughter, who was born nine months ago.When I heard that we would be forbidden from travelling I was very upset, because any athlete dreams of wearing his national jersey in international forums, he told AFP
We want to be able to travel freely with our families, just like athletes anywhere else in the world.The Israeli permits only allow the six to play for the national team, so when they travel through the West Bank and play with local clubs they risk being arrested and sent back to Gaza.
Ahmad Tibi, an Arab member of the Israeli parliament, said he had filed a complaint with Israel's public security ministry regarding the permits. Israel is trying to set Palestinian sports back after they have taken a great leap forward, he said.The first principle of international sports is that they should be based on fair play, so where is the fairness in keeping Palestinian players from freely travelling with their team? AFP
