Latest news with #JibrilRajoub


Forbes
18-05-2025
- Politics
- Forbes
FIFA Under Fire From Palestinian FA For Slow, Unclear Israel Investigation
usan Shalabi was exhausted - tired of traveling halfway around the world from Amman to Asuncion, tired of fighting against the soccer establishment. But she was in Paraguay to deliver an important message on behalf of the Palestinian Football Association (PFA), a message FIFA, soccer's global governing body, has heard before—and ignored. Shalabi told me: 'That's the usual FIFA, that's the motto. Procrastination.' After FIFA president Gianni Infantino wooed delegates with promises of a projected $13 billion revenue and trips to FIFA Summits in Miami - just before a walkout by the European Council members in protest of his late arrival - Shalabi finally got the chance to speak. Once again she raised the issue of Israeli settlement clubs in the West Bank. With the war in Gaza, her call carried great urgency. Shalabi and PFA president Jibril Rajoub have long been passionate advocates for Palestinian soccer. The pair have been protesting the Israeli presence in the West Bank for over a decade. She told the Congress: 'Let's not keep rewriting the minutes of meetings and passing the bucket from one committee to the other, while football in Palestine is being erased. We need to act now.' That urgency was lost on FIFA. The organisation's secretary general Mattias Grafström stepped in—not with a decision, but with delay. Instead of acting on the PFA's request to conclude the investigation into settlement clubs within a month, he deflected. He said: 'The matter was discussed by the Governance, Audit and Compliance Committee and the work of the Governance, Audit and Compliance Committee remains ongoing, as does the investigation of the Disciplinary Committee.' Shalabi and the PFA invoked articles 64 and 65 of the FIFA Statutes - territorial rules that prohibit member associations from organizing soccer on another member's land without permission. At the 2024 FIFA Congress in Bangkok, Thailand, they called for 'appropriate' sanctions against the Israel Football Association (IFA), citing 'unprecedented international human rights and humanitarian law violations.' FIFA's response then was to commission a legal review by independent experts, but the assessment and decision were postponed to allow Israel to compete in the Olympic football tournament in Paris, France. The issue was remitted to the FIFA Governance Audit and Compliance Committee (GACC), but the committee has still not come to a resolution. Grafstrom added that the GACC has 'requested expert reporting, including on topics of territoriality, to support its work.' FIFA has a history of kicking this can down the road. In 2017, the global governing body dismissed a report by South Africa's Tokyo Sexwale that laid out three actions to address the Israeli settlement clubs. None were taken. Football in Gaza and the West Bank has all but collapsed. Yet amid the devastation, a few glimmers of hope remain—Palestine's U-20 national women's team recently won the West Asian Football Federation (WAFF) Championship, overcoming Jordan 4-2 in a penalty shootout in the final following a 1-1 draw. 'Even at the grimmest of times, you know, we still hold on to not not not to the hope, to the belief that someday we will get justice,' said Shalabi. 'If you don't have hope, then what's the point in anything?'


Al-Ahram Weekly
05-04-2025
- Politics
- Al-Ahram Weekly
Israeli atrocities harm hopes for peaceful coexistence in region: FM Abdelatty to Fatah delegation - Foreign Affairs
Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty warned that Israel's belief in the power of force would create further obstacles to peaceful coexistence among the peoples of the region during a meeting with a Palestinian Fatah delegation in Cairo on Saturday to assess the escalating violence in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. The delegation, led by Fatah Secretary-General Jibril Rajoub, included Rawhi Fattouh, President of the Palestinian National Council, and Mohammad Shtayyeh, former Palestinian Prime Minister. The Foreign Minister emphasized Egypt's rejection of Israel's ongoing aggression in Gaza and the West Bank, as well as its aggressive policies in the region and its use of brutal military force with no regard for international humanitarian law. He condemned Israel's continued extremist practices against civilians and its actions as a state that considers itself above the law, stressing that illusions of power will not bring Israel the security it imagines. Instead, the atrocities it commits will only deepen hatred and a desire for revenge against it in the region, creating further obstacles to peaceful coexistence among the peoples of the region. Abdelatty warned that this would have severely negative repercussions on Israel's security and stability, as well as on the prospects for sustainable peace in the region, cautioning against the consequences of the shameful international silence toward what is happening in the occupied Palestinian territories. The Foreign Minister reaffirmed Egypt's full support for the Palestinian Authority, rejecting Israeli efforts to separate Gaza from the West Bank and any attempts to displace Palestinians. On Friday, the Israeli Defense and Security Forum proposed dividing Gaza into "humanitarian islands" under Israeli control, a plan linked to US President Donald Trump's 2025 call to expel Gaza's native Palestinian population. The Foreign Minister also discussed the Arab-Islamic plan for Gaza's reconstruction and emphasized the importance of reinforcing Palestinian unity and supporting the Palestinian Authority's role in meeting the aspirations of the Palestinian people. He reiterated Egypt's stance toward a just resolution to the Palestinian issue, advocating for an independent Palestinian state along the 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital. Since 18 March, Israel has resumed its genocidal war on Gaza, killing more than 1,000 Palestinians, including at least 322 children, and injuring nearly 2,400 others. Follow us on: Facebook Instagram Whatsapp Short link:


Middle East
04-04-2025
- Politics
- Middle East
OPEN// FM meets Fatah movement delegation, Seychelles FM on Saturday
CAIRO, April 3 (MENA) - Minister of Foreign Affairs, Emigration and Egyptian Expatriates Badr Abdelatty will receive on Saturday a delegation from the Palestinian Fatah Movement, headed by Jibril Rajoub, the secretary of Fatah's Central Committee, and comprising Chairman of the Palestinian National Council (PNC) Rawhi Fattouh, and Mohammad Shtayyeh, a member of Fatah's Central Committee and former Prime Minister. Also, the top Egyptian diplomat will hold a meeting with Foreign Minister Sylvestre Radegonde of Seychelles which will be followed by an expanded round of talks to be attended by official delegations from both countries. (MENA) R E E/


Memri
05-02-2025
- Politics
- Memri
Palestinian Politician Jibril Rajoub: The Grandchildren Of The Victims Of The 'Lie' Of The Holocaust Are Perpetrating A Holocaust In Gaza, Using The Same Methods; Hamas Should Let The Palestinian Auth
Palestinian politician Jibril Rajoub, secretary of the Fatah Central Committee, said in a January 31, 2025 appearance on Al-Iraqiyah TV (Iraq) that what is happening now in Gaza is a "holocaust." He said that the grandchildren of the "lie" of the Holocaust are using the same methods in Gaza. Rajoub continued to suggest that Hamas welcomes a Palestinian Authority takeover of Gaza, allowing it to be the party that talks to the international community, instead of having Hamas negotiating with Israel. Jibril Rajoub: "The Israelis have built their lie on the Holocaust. Well, what is happening in Gaza? All of it is a 'caust.' It is a holocaust. It is the same version, and the same method. The only... Someone did this, but unfortunately, the grandchildren of the Holocaust victims are the ones committing a holocaust in Gaza. [...] "I hope that all my brothers, in all the national action factions, do not succumb to all the enticements or pressures. I was hoping that our brothers in Hamas, from day one, would not enter any negotiations or talks with Netanyahu or anyone else. Rather, they should have said: 'We welcome the Palestinian Authority. It should come and take over Gaza, and be the party that starts talks with the international community.'"