IS THE ISRAEL FA INNOCENT FROM THE ACTIONS OF THE STATE IT REPRESENTS?IS THE ISRAEL FA INNOCENT FROM THE ACTIONS OF THE STATE IT REPRESENTS?

Why are we asking to suspend the Israel FA?

Human rights’

violations

Restrictions on

Movement

Restrictions on

building/maintaini

ng football

Infrastructure

Restrictions on the

import and

export of Sport goods

Political intervention in the organizati

on of friendly matches abroad

Let us see how the Israeli occupation hinders the development of Palestinian Football:

The list of human rights’ violations committed by the Israeli occupation is endless. It includes killing players and officials, arresting the same without charges, maiming footballers on intent, and simply standing between footballers and their basic right to play.

1- Human Rights’ violations1- Human Rights’ violations

Player Mahmoud Kamel Mohammad Sarsak: imprisoned by Israeli authorities for more than 3 years without trial ever since the 22nd of July 2009. He was arrested by the Israeli forces as he was on his way from Gaza to the West bank to play with his new club, “Markaz Balata”. He was released in 2012 after 90 days of being on a hunger strike, and was only released after the much appreciated intervention from the President of FIFA and other sport governing bodies.

Examples:Examples:

In February 2013, Israeli troops arrested 16 children who were playing football in the pitch of their school located in the village of “Tel”, near the city of Nablus. The boys learned that the Israeli occupation forces had kidnapped two of their group near the pitch, and had gone outside to see what happened when the whole group was kidnapped and taken to a military detention camp in Huwwarah. They were only released late at night, after lengthy talks between the Palestinian civil office and the Israeli military.

On Thursday 31/1/2013, Abu Dis club player Johar Nasser Aldeen Halabiyeh, born 14/9/1994, and his cousin Adam (18-years old) ,were brutally attacked and shot by Israeli Army soldiers at around 11:15 p.m. They were shot by live bullets mainly in the knees and lower body. And as if shooting was not enough, they were both savagely beaten by the soldiers, while their assault dogs participated in the attack and nearly took a chunk of Johar's arm

After the assault, they were arrested. The Israeli soldiers refused to let Palestinian medical teams treat them, and took them instead to Hadas Ein Karem Israeli hospital.

On 29/4/2014, Israeli authorities arrested players Johar and Adam Halbiyeh, as they were heading back to Palestine, after being treated for their injuries in Jordan.

On 10/3/2014 a young player from Bittin, Saji Darweesh, 18 years old, who plays for his village's local team, was shot dead by an Israeli army sniper. Saji had finished herding his flock of sheep, and was taking a short cut to his home, according to witnesses, when he was shot by the sniper hiding in the bushes close by. According to the Israeli report, Saji posed no threat to the soldier, yet the latter shot him, and the boy was left there gasping for his life while a Palestinian Ambulance coming to help him was being hindered by the Israeli forces.

On 24/11/2013, an Israeli Special Police Force arrested and physically assaulted Mr. Basel Mahmud, the Coach of Al- Isawiyah Club’s Women’s team. Mr. Mahmud was departing the club after concluding a training of his team, headed for his sister’s house, when he was assaulted and beat up.

2- Restrictions on movement2- Restrictions on movement• Israeli checkpoints prevent players from

moving freely between Palestinian cities• Players living abroad are often denied permits

to enter the Palestinian territories. • Players from Gaza Strip are denied access to

the West Bank.• The occupation authorities delay players for

long periods at the borders leading to Jordan. This is exhausting and negatively affects their performance.

• Difficulty in bringing together all the national team players for training obliges PFA to set up training camps outside Palestine.

It’s well worth noting that, between the years 2002 and 2004, Israeli Authorities had banned every Palestinian under 35 years of age from travelling out of Palestine.

2-1: Restrictions on movement:Movement within Palestine (between Gaza and the West Bank)

2-1: Restrictions on movement:Movement within Palestine (between Gaza and the West Bank)

• It is not permitted for Palestinians to freely move between Gaza and the West Bank. A permit from the District Coordination Office (DCO), is needed for that. To obtain the permit, a Palestinian is obliged to state the reasons for the visit, and present an invitation, and then wait for God-knows-how-much; It can be 3 days, a month, or an eternity. Once the permit is obtained, there’s an expiry date to observe, and a new procedure to go through for renewal.

 One thing to be noted about the permit that a Gazan gets to visit the west bank, is that the permit is city-specific, so if you were a Gazan who got a permit valid for Ramallah, you would risk being deported back to Gaza if an Israeli check point caught you in the wrong city.

Until this moment, no Board meeting (that includes all board members from the west bank and Gaza) has been held in full in Palestine since 2008 due to these Israeli restrictions The only full meeting of the

PFA Board was held abroad in Lebanon in 8/2/2012.

A footballer is faced with one or many of these scenarios:

• If from Gaza, he or she may not get a permit from the Israeli side to get out from Gaza, and join the team in the west bank, so Gazan players have to travel separately and join their teams abroad.

• checkpoints may prevent players from travelling by restricting movement between cities, not to mention that security checks at Israeli checkpoints can be humiliating.

• Facing obstruction and delay at the borders may result in players missing their flights.

 

2-2: Restrictions on movement in and out of Palestine:2-2: Restrictions on movement in and out of Palestine:

• In the past years, FIFA and confederation officials have been stopped for no reason at borders and checkpoints. Even the FIFA President in 1999 and 2008 and the UEFA President faced this experience.

• In the 2012 edition of Al-Nakba tournament, the Pakistani team had to play without its Head Coach, and the Jordanian team without a few of its key players.

2-3: Restrictions on movement:Visiting teams and officials2-3: Restrictions on movement:Visiting teams and officials

Even FIFA, AFC officials, and journalists were denied entry to Palestine:

In May 2012, Mr. David Borja, a high-ranking FIFA official was denied boarding to his EL AL flight in Zurich by the Israeli security. They said they did not have enough time to check his security background, and he had to book another flight.

In February 2013, AFC Instructor Mr. Windsor John, currently the AFC Acting General Secretary, who was supposed to conduct an MO course in Ramallah, was denied an entry permit by the Israeli authorities without reason.

On 16/6/2013, the PFA applied for permits for 95 sport journalists, who wanted to cover the FIFA President’s visit of 7-8 July 2013. Only 64 received approval, while 31 were rejected.

Examples:Examples:

• Banning the building –or hindering the completion of – stadiums and other infrastructure by reverting to the limitations of the restrictive “zoning” regime implemented by the Israeli occupation, which uses references to British Mandatory Regulation plans dating back to the 1940s

• This “zoning” divides Palestinian lands into areas “A”, “B” & “C” choking the growth of the Palestinian population, and its ability to build any infrastructure outside the densely populated major cities.

3- Obstructions to infrastructure:3- Obstructions to infrastructure:

A closer look at this colonial tool tells us the following:

• Palestinians can build on only 17.9% of the West Bank. This small portion is already occupied by the main cities & their immediate surroundings

• Areas “B” (including 3% of non-buildable green areas) form 22.9% of the west bank, while areas “C” take up the remaining 59.2%

• Israeli occupation has freely used the “zoning” tool to deem FIFA projects in “C”- and even “B” areas- virtually impossible

Example: FIFA Natural Grass GP in “Beit Liqya” deemed impossible:

The village itself is in area “A”, while the filed is located in Areas “B” and “C”

The Palestine FA’s request to obtain a building permit were denied by the Israeli occupation due to "security considerations", and the project was thus forfeited.

The long list of the sport facilities destroyed in Gaza includes:

• The Palestine Olympic Committee,• Palestine Stadium• Ittihad Al-Shja’iyah Club, • Football Union Club, • Al-Shams Club, • Al-Shuhadaa Club, • Ahali Al-Nuseirat Club ,• Khadamat Deir Al-Balah Club, Shabab

Jabalia Club, • Shabab rafah Club, • The Sports city, • Gaza Al-Riyadi Club, • Al-Hilal Al-Riyadi Club

The situation in not better in Gaza. The Israeli war machine has destroyed almost every existing sport infrastructure there.

Alyarmuk Stadium Gaza

Palestine Stadium

Paralympics

Palestine Stadium

Rafah Stadium

Al-Shams Club

Gaza Sport Club

PFA - Gaza

Jabalia youthclub

Rafah youth sport club

Nuseirat ahli youth club

Palestine OlympicCommittee

Rafah youth sport club

shijaeiya club

Israeli special forces storm a football field:• Date: 4th of March, 2013• Location: Jabal Al-Zaitun pitch,

Al-Tur village, near Jerusalem.• Reason: The organization of an

official U14 league match between Jabal AI-Zaitun and Nadi al-Moathafin clubs.

• Details: The joint force of Israeli special troops and intelligence officers (fully armed) threatens the two children teams, their parents, the staff and spectators that they will revert to the use of force if they did not clear the premises at once.

• Result: The Israeli force closes the pitch and issues a warning that prohibits anyone from returning to the place in the future

But it doesn’t stop here:

On the morning of 30/4/2014, Israeli military forces handed the Administration of the Islami Qalqiliya club a military order informing them that the club is closed until 13/12/2014. The same force sealed the entrance and warned the administration not to enter the place until the date specified in the military order.

On 31/1/2014, Israeli forces shot tear gas grenades around Faisal al-Husseini stadium, just as a Pro league match was being played. The referee had to cancel the match, since both players and spectators could not breathe, not to mention the referees. 

Shipments enter supposedly through either Jordan or Israel via Israeli ports or Ben Gurion Airport.

To obtain the release of this donated equipment, the Palestinian customs authority must provide the Israeli customs authority with a number of documents so the latter can decide whether the equipment is released:

In the past years, on several opportunities, donated equipment sent by FIFA and UEFA has not been received or was released only after the payment of exorbitant fees.

Hindering Sports Shipment: Red tape customs proceduresHindering Sports Shipment:

Red tape customs procedures

The PFA submitted a

proposal for the agenda of the

63rd FIFA Congress held in Mauritius in 2013 to ask for help in

solving these issues

Efforts developed by the FIFA President, in

cooperation with the Asian and European

confederations (AFC and UEFA), have resulted in

three meetings held in the FIFA headquarters in Zurich,

visits in the region in July 2013 and May 2014, and a mechanism based on the appointment of “liaison officers” in FIFA, the PFA and the Israel Football

Association (IFA) to help solve the issues of

movement, shipments, and infrastructure;

by the FIFA 64th Congress, the

mechanism had not produced any real progress, which necessitated the appointment of a

FIFA neutral monitor to report on the

mechanism to the FIFA EXCO meeting of December 2014

The neutral monitor submitted both his

report and his resignation to the FIFA EXCO.The

Israeli occupation forces had raided the

PFA Headquarters just as he was

conducting a meeting in their command

headquarters, and the message was clear..

Faced with these issue, the Palestine FA came with a complaint to FIFA

The Israel Football Association justifies the actions of the Israeli occupation and is in breach of more than one article of the FIFA statutes:

1- The IFA has demanded, in a letter sent to FIFA on 25 August 2013 that “the Palestine Football Association MUST operate through the formal channels of the state of Israel” which is a serious violation of Article 17-1 of the FIFA statutes that clearly states that “Each Member shall manage its affairs independently and with no influence from third parties.”

Now you might ask: What does the Israel Football Association have to do with this?

Now you might ask: What does the Israel Football Association have to do with this?

2- The absence of a stance by the IFA, against discrimination and racism, in the areas under its jurisdiction constitutes direct violation of article 3 of the FIFA statutes

Only in Israeli soccer can a club block Arabs from joining its ranks, and harsh violence is treated solely as a disciplinary infraction, to be handled by the Israel Football Association’s internal court.

What does the Israel Football Association have to do with this?!What does the Israel Football Association have to do with this?!

Name: Betar Eroni Ma’aly Adomim

Address: Yahloum Sqware 1, Ma’aly Adomin P.O. Box: 62

League: B League , South B

3- The IFA continues to organize football official activities in areas under the jurisdiction of another association, including allowing clubs in illegal Israeli colonies located in internationally recognized Palestinian territories (as per UN Security Council resolutions (S/RES/242) and (S/RES/338), and UN General Assembly resolution (A/RES/67/19) to play, and be registered, in the Israel FA league, which constitutes a violation of articles 10-1, 13-1/i and 17-1 of the FIFA statutes.

What does the Israel Football Association have to do with this?!What does the Israel Football Association have to do with this?!

The Israel Football

Association, or Israeli

authorities, submit written guarantees to

FIFA  that :It will respect the FIFA

statutes by recognizing that

the Palestine Football

Association is the sole

governing body responsible for organizing and

supervising football in all of its forms in the

territory of Palestine (Article 10-1 of the FIFA

Statutes).

The Israel FA shall

fully recognize that the

Palestine FA is entitled to

enjoy the following

rights without any restriction

or intervention

from the Israeli

occupation or any other third party:

The right of

movement of football

people and goods

into, out of, and within

Palestine including

East Jerusalem

.

The right of the PFA to

develop football

infrastructure and facilities

in the territory of Palestine including

East Jerusale

m.

The right to import and

export sport goods in and out of Palesti

ne.

The settlement clubs are

banned from playing football in competitions

organized by the IFA

because they are located in

the internationally-

recognized territory of

Palestine and because they participate in

these competitions without the

FIFA authorization defined as per

Article 84 of the same FIFA statutes

The Israel FA shall uphold its obligation

to FIFA in taking a stance against

discrimination and racism (Article 3 of

the FIFA statutes) by

taking serious

measures against

racism and human rights

violations within its area

of jurisdiction.

It is so easy for the IFA to avoid any suspension proposals if:

PALESTINE FOOTBALL ASSOCIATION

PALESTINE FOOTBALL ASSOCIATION

Thank you for your attention