Head of Palestinian Football Association Refused to Shake Hands with Israeli Representative: "We Are Suffering, How Can I Shake Hands?"

(Patria) - The President of the Palestinian Football Association, Jibril Rajoub, refused to participate in a photo opportunity with Israeli football official Basim Sheik Suliman at the end of the FIFA Congress.

After Rajoub and Suliman addressed the delegates, FIFA President Gianni Infantino invited them to stand next to him. Rajoub refused, even after repeated attempts by Infantino to encourage him to do so, AFP reported. At one point, Rajoub could be heard saying: "We are suffering.".

The Palestinian Football Association (PFA) recently complained to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) over FIFA's refusal to sanction Israel for football clubs based in the West Bank.

The PFA claims that clubs based in settlements in the West Bank should not be allowed to compete in leagues controlled by Israeli football authorities.

United Nations experts said in 2024 that at least eight football clubs had been identified as playing in "Israeli colonial settlements" and called on FIFA to "fulfill its responsibility to respect human rights".

Addressing reporters, Rajoub called on FIFA to "apply its statutes fairly and logically".

"What is happening in Palestine is terrible, all Palestinian sports facilities in Gaza are being destroyed, hundreds of Palestinian athletes, employees are being killed... I think now is the time for justice to be served," Rajoub said yesterday.

"The man who spoke on behalf of Israel did not even pay attention to the suffering, to what is happening. I refused to shake hands. How can I shake hands or take a photo with such a man?"