Pro-Palestinians have staged a rally in the Swiss city of Zurich to
call on football’s governing body, FIFA, to expel Israel from world
soccer tournaments.
On Thursday, the protesters gathered outside the venue for the 65th
FIFA Congress, waved pro-Palestine banners and flags, and shouted, “We
want justice! We want freedom!” and “Free, free Palestine!” as delegates
turned up for the event.
“We gathered here today to call for the expulsion of Israel from
FIFA, because of Israel’s Zionist and racist policies towards the
Palestinian people,” a pro-Palestinian demonstrator, identified only by
his first name, Ahmed, said.
He added, “We want freedom for Palestine. We want the Israeli army
out. We want them to stop building settlements in Palestine, and we want
them to get rid of the racist separation wall in Jerusalem (al-Quds),
and we want all the Palestinian refugees to be able to return to
Palestine.”
Palestinian Football Federation President Jibril Rajoub also said,
“This protest shows that the world is fed up with the naughty Israeli
attitude against the international laws, the FIFA laws, and the human
rights law. I hope that FIFA will realize how Palestinian athletes
suffer, and I hope they will help them to achieve their rights to play
this game, develop it, and promote it.”
Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has claimed that
if FIFA votes Friday in favor of the Palestinian motion to outs Israel
out of the world soccer governing body, the decision would ultimately
“destroy” the organization.
“The attempt to hurt Israel politically will destroy FIFA, because it
will start with Israel… and then the next,” he said on Thursday.
Israel qualified for its only FIFA World Cup to date as an Asian team
in 1970. Four years later, the Israeli soccer team was expelled from
the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), and the squad now competes in
international soccer matches as a member of the Union of European
Football Associations (UEFA). The Israeli side has so far failed to
score a major victory in European soccer fixtures.
Jumat, 29 Mei 2015
Pro-Palestinians urge FIFA to oust Israel
09.10
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