Israel Soccer fires back at Palestinian officials after suspension proposal

The Israel Football Association (IFA) has responded to allegations of discrimination and a proposed suspension of its team from the Palestinian Football Association (PFA). 

FIFA, the world's soccer governing body, launched an investigation into allegations of discrimination against the IFA last week. FIFA leaders made this decision when they ruled against suspending Israel from international play after the PFA proposed a suspension to Israel amid the war and humanitarian crisis in Gaza earlier this year.

In a statement provided to Fox News Digital by IFA head of communications Shlomi Barzell over the weekend, the IFA condemned the PFA for its recent proposal to FIFA.

"Whoever fantasized about the suspension of Israeli football from the international arena or sanctions through lies and false accusations, has suffered a defeat," the statement read. "Again, we have acted over time in different channels, in a calculated and proactive manner in the face of the challenge of the Palestinian Association and its leader to distort reality, and the result today leaves no room for doubt. 

"We respect the authors of the report submitted to the council members and the decision of the council members to consider transferring two issues to a legal examination, as long as there is any factual justification for it. Thanks to values that represent a glorious democracy and an independent and determined legal system of the Football Association, we have never violated and will not violate any of the FIFA/UEFA rules," the statement read. 

The PFA has not responded to multiple requests for comment from Fox News Digital. 

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The PFA's original proposal claimed at least 92 non-professional Palestinian players have been killed in the war, football infrastructure has been destroyed, its leagues suspended and its national team required to play World Cup qualifiers abroad. The Palestinian federation wanted FIFA to adopt appropriate sanctions against Israeli teams, including the national side and clubs. 

Katarina Pijetlovic, head of the PFA’s legal department, addressed FIFA's decision not to suspend Israel in posts on X on Oct. 3. 

"FIFA allowed Israel FA to continue using the Palestinian territory [occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem] as their own territory, and to use football under its umbrella as an instrument of colonial expansion," she wrote in a post on X. "The decision is purely political. Will we wait 2 yrs again, as in 2015-17, for the committee to suggest the obvious and then have their suggestion rejected again? Why don't they just say it: Israel has impunity to destroy FIFA member associations & use their colonized territories."

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Gaza-based soccer journalist Abubaker Abed previously told Al Jazeera that the Palestinian Federation "acts as a form of resistance" and alleged that more than 50 Palestinian sports facilities had been destroyed. 

"The people of Palestine know this team acts as a form of resistance and is conveying a message to the world," Gaza-Abed said. "More than 50 sports facilities have been reduced to rubble in Gaza, including nine out of 10 of Gaza’s stadiums. Almost every club has been destroyed in this war, while one stadium in Deir el-Balah has been turned into a shelter for thousands of displaced people."

FIFA's disciplinary committee will now be asked to look into the allegations of discrimination. The PFA has specifically accused the IFA of complicity in violations of international law by the Israeli government, discrimination against Arab players and inclusion in its league of clubs located in Palestinian territory.

"The FIFA Disciplinary Committee will be mandated to initiate an investigation into the alleged offense of discrimination raised by the Palestine Football Association," FIFA said in a statement. "FIFA's Governance, Audit and Compliance Committee will be entrusted with the mission to investigate... the participation in Israeli competitions of Israeli football teams allegedly based in the territory of Palestine."

The PFA's proposal of suspension was enough to convince FIFA to seek an independent legal council and hold a landmark council meeting to make a decision on whether to suspend Israel from international soccer because of the conflict with Hamas, said FIFA President Gianni Infantino at the FIFA congress in May.

However, for the time being, it doesn't appear that Israel will be subject to a suspension. A suspension may have severely impacted its hopes to compete in the 2026 World Cup, which will be played in North America. The final will be played in East Rutherford, New Jersey, just across the Hudson River from New York City. 

Countries have been banned from competing in the World Cup in the past based on the actions of their governments and national team administrations. 

Germany and Japan were banned from the 1950 World Cup after the end of World War II. South Africa was banned from 1966 to 1992 for violating FIFA's anti-discrimination charter due to apartheid. Mexico was banned for two years after using overage players in qualifiers for the 1989 World Youth Championship.

Israel has only ever qualified for the World Cup once, in 1970, and it didn't make it out of the group stage. Israel won a championship in the 1964 Asian Games. However, they were moved from the Asian Football Federation to the the European Confederation UEFA in 1994, where they have struggled to compete. The team suffered its most lopsided loss in its history in a 7-1 blowout to Germany in 2002.

Israel is currently in the midst of its UEFA Nations League schedule. It will play France on Thursday after starting off 0-2. 

Meanwhile, Palestine is currently in the midst of group play for the FIFA World Cup Asian qualifiers. It will play Iraq on Thursday after starting group play with one loss and one draw. Palestine has never qualified for the World Cup. 

Monday marks the one-year anniversary of the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas terrorist attacks on Israel, which killed 1,195 people, including 815 civilians, and resulted in 251 people being taken hostage. At least 31 Americans were killed during the attacks and 13 others were missing. 

On Aug. 15, at least 40,005 Palestinians were reported to have been killed in Gaza since the war began. Gaza’s health ministry doesn’t distinguish between civilians and combatants in its count, but says at least 5,956 women and at least 10,627 children have been killed.

One year after the attack, Hamas marked the anniversary by firing a barrage of rockets at Tel Aviv on Monday.

Israel's war in Gaza rages on even as Israel is now fighting a new war against Hezbollah, escalating its bombing campaign in Lebanon the past three weeks. Last week Israel faced additional attacks from Iran, which backs both Hamas and Hezbollah, in the form of missile strikes. 

The strikes forced nearly 10 million people to find safety in bomb shelters on Tuesday, and even forced a pair of Israeli women's basketball teams to abandon their game and flee to shelter, per the Jerusalem Times. 

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