The President of the Palestinian Football Association, Lieutenant General Jibril Rajoub , affirmed that the failure to hold Israel responsible for the attacks it commits against sports in Palestine hinders our ability to fulfill our obligations to compete in national and international competitions.

This came during a press conference held today, Tuesday, at the headquarters of the Palestinian Football Association in the town of Al-Ram, north of occupied Jerusalem.

Rajoub explained that the attack carried out by the Israeli occupation forces, on the evening of March 30, during the Martyr Yasser Arafat Cup final match at Faisal Al-Husseini International Stadium in the town of Al-Ram, is not the first of its kind in which sports are targeted in Palestine, and was preceded by dozens of violations that The Israeli occupation authorities targeted athletes and facilities, killing, injuring and arresting a number of players.

Rajoub presented, in front of a group of ambassadors, consuls and members of diplomatic missions working in Palestine, an explanation of the recent attack by the occupation forces, in the cup final match between the Balata Camp Center and Jabal Mukaber teams, in the presence of about 2,000 fans, as well as a group of foreign diplomats.

He said: "At around eleven o'clock in the evening, two heavily armed Israeli occupation forces arrived at the entrance to the headquarters of the Palestinian Football Association and surrounded the stadium. The occupation forces, without any justification, fired a barrage of tear gas and rubber-coated metal bullets towards the floor." The stadium and the stands, which led to the injury of dozens of fans, including children, which in turn led to the suspension of the match for an hour, until the medical staff managed to treat the injured and evacuate the main national stadium.

He stated that at the end of the match, the occupation forces resumed their attack by massively firing tear gas canisters at the stadium, wounding the players, referees and officials of the Palestinian Football Association, who did not leave the stadium.

Rajoub stressed that he was keen to denounce and denounce the attacks and assaults committed by the Israeli occupation forces on a regular basis against athletes and sports infrastructure.

He said: “We have always detailed in our reports to FIFA, the Asian Football Confederation and other international federations and organizations the difficulties of practicing sports in Palestine, due to the policies and practices of the Israeli occupation, but to this day, no action has been taken to hold Israel responsible for the attacks it is committing and which impede the ability of Palestine, as a member of FIFA, to fulfill its obligations to compete in national and international competitions.”

The President of the Palestinian Football Association confirmed that FIFA was provided with detailed information about football clubs in illegal settlements established on the occupied Palestinian lands, which the Israeli Football Association allows to play illegally in the Israeli league, while they benefit from the funding allocated by FIFA. for development, which constitutes a flagrant violation of FIFA's own rules and regulations. Unfortunately, FIFA did nothing about it!

Rajoub denounced the culture of turning a blind eye and not punishing those responsible for the repeated attacks against players and sports facilities in Palestine. Ma'ale Adumim and Pisgat Ze'ev.

He stated that the international community had taken action against cases in other contexts, but the Israeli occupation constituted an example of impunity at all levels, including at the level of FIFA regulations and regulations, the basic principles of the United Nations Charter as well as the Olympic Charter.

He demanded international protection for our people in light of the repeated attacks and attacks, and an end to the policy of impunity with which such practices are met by Israel.

Rajoub concluded his statement by saying, "Depriving Palestinians of their right to safely practice sports sums up the general reality they suffer from under the Israeli occupation."