FIFA postponed decision on Palestine’s proposal to ban Israel from international football

The world football association FIFA has postponed its decision on Palestine’s request to exclude Israel from international football.

“An independent legal assessment of the Palestinian Football Association’s proposal against the Israel Football Association should be submitted to the FIFA Council by 20 July 2024,” FIFA said in a statement.

“After both sides requested an extension to submit their positions and this was duly approved by FIFA, more time is required to complete this process with due diligence and thoroughness,” the statement continued.

FIFA announced that the assessment would be submitted to the FIFA Council by 31 August at the latest for possible further decision.

Accordingly, the Israeli football team can participate in the Olympic Games in Paris, which begin on July 26.

In May, the president of the Palestinian Football Association, Jibril Rajoub, called for the urgent exclusion of Israel from the world football association during the 74th Congress in Bangkok.

“How much more must the Palestinian football family endure for FIFA to act with the same seriousness and urgency as in other cases? Does FIFA believe that some wars are more important than others and some casualties are more serious?” asked Rajoub.

Israel violated a United Nations (UN) Security Council resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire and faced international condemnation for its ongoing brutal offensive on Gaza since the October 7 Hamas attack that killed 38,848 Palestinians.

More than nine months after the start of Israeli attacks, large parts of Gaza lie in ruins.

Israel is accused of genocide by the International Court of Justice (ICJ), which recently ordered Israel to immediately halt its military operation in the southern city of Rafah, where more than a million Palestinians had sought refuge from the war before the May 6 attack.