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How the Palestinian Authority Uses Sports to Demonize Israel and Urge a Boycott
Palestinian Football Association head Jibril Rajoub speaks during a press conference regarding the cancellation of the soccer match between Argentina and Israel, in the West Bank city of Ramallah, Sunday, June 6, 2018. Photo: Flash90.
Chairman of the Palestinian Football Association, Jibril Rajoub, has reiterated Palestinian Authority (PA) policy that for the PA, sports is “a means of struggle” against Israel:
[Chairman of the Palestinian Football Association] Jibril Rajoub emphasized that Palestinian sports “will continue to be a means of struggle and a platform to sound the Palestinian people’s voice and expose the occupation’s (i.e., Israel’s) crimes.” [emphasis added]
[Official PA daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, July 7, 2025]
This comes following the Palestinian Authority Basketball Federation applauding Jordan’s boycott and refusal to compete against Israel’s team in the Under-19 World Championship, which Palestinian Media Watch exposed last month.
Right after Jordan’s boycott of Israel, official PA TV stressed that “this is a very important issue on which our sports message is built.”
The Deputy Secretary of the Palestine Olympic Committee exemplified this, explaining that the committee has “submitted an official request to remove Israel from the Olympics”:
Palestine Olympic Committee Deputy Secretary Nader Jayousi: “There is a decision by the [Palestine] Olympic Committee to send Palestinian teams everywhere. Regarding institutions, we have approached every institution involved in sports, and there are many like these, the most important of which is the International Olympic Committee. Even before the Olympics in Paris, we submitted an official request to remove Israel from the Olympics. This was a clear and justified appeal. We submitted documents [showing] that Israeli athletes participating in the Olympics wrote posts on social media about killing children in the Gaza Strip, boasting about the murder of children in the Gaza Strip, nothing more is needed (refers to Hamas’ Oct. 7 war on Israel; see note below -Ed.).”
Official PA TV host: “I want to talk about the popular international position. There are many athletes who have boycotted forums and world championships due to the participation of [Israeli] players who took part in the annihilation and were soldiers in the annihilation. This is a very important issue on which our sports message is built, that the Arab and international athlete is part of the message and part of the confrontation against the war of annihilation and crimes against the innocent.”
Nader Jayousi: “We saw the expression of this yesterday [June 29, 2025]. Yesterday the youth team of sister Jordan refused to play against the Israeli basketball team in the Youth Basketball Cup. This is a phenomenon we see among our brothers from Algeria who on several occasions refused to compete against Israelis.”
[Official PA TV, Palestine This Morning, June 30, 2025]
Palestinian Media Watch (PMW) has documented that Jibril Rajoub, who also serves as Fatah Central Committee Secretary, Head of the PLO Supreme Council for Youth and Sports, Chairman of the Palestine Olympic Committee, and Chairman of the Palestinian Scout Association (PSA), as policy prohibits Palestinian-Israeli sports.
Ironically, he has also claimed that sports is “a bridge of love and connection with the international community.”
PMW has also exposed that Rajoub has justified Hamas’ massacre and Oct. 7 war on Israel as “war of defense” and endorsed terror as “self-defense in our lands … through all types of resistance.” Rajoub has even called for war, encouraging Hezbollah and Iran to “punish the Israeli enemy”:
When PMW complained to FIFA about Rajoub in the past, and he was suspended by FIFA for a year, he was furious at PMW and called PMW’s director the “Goebbels of the 21st century”:
“There’s Palestinian Media Watch, whose director is Goebbels – Goebbels, Hitler’s ideological theorist… He is the Goebbels of the 21st century.”
[Official PA TV Live, Sept. 3, 2018]
The author is a contributor to Palestinian Media Watch, whee a version of this story first appeared.
The post How the Palestinian Authority Uses Sports to Demonize Israel and Urge a Boycott first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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US Revokes Palestinian Officials’ Visas Ahead of UN Meeting, State Dept Says
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas looks on as he visits the Istishari Cancer Center in Ramallah, in the West Bank, May 14, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Mohammed Torokman
The US is denying and revoking visas from members of the Palestine Liberation Organization and the Palestinian Authority ahead of the United Nations General Assembly meeting in September, the State Department said on Friday.
The department did not name the officials targeted. It was unclear whether Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, who is planning to travel to New York to deliver an address to the late September gathering, was included in the restrictions.
The Palestinians’ ambassador to the UN, Riyad Mansour, told reporters that they were checking exactly what the US move means “and how it applies to any of our delegation, and we will respond accordingly.”
Abbas’ office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The US restrictions follow the imposition of US sanctions on Palestinian Authority officials and members of the Palestine Liberation Organization in July, even as other Western powers move toward recognition of Palestinian statehood.
In a statement, the State Department said that “it is in our national security interests to hold the PLO and PA accountable for not complying with their commitments, and for undermining the prospects for peace.”
Officials with the Palestinian Authority, which has limited self-rule in much of the West Bank, reject that they’ve undermined peace prospects.
Under the 1947 UN “headquarters agreement,” the US is generally required to allow access for foreign diplomats to the UN in New York. But Washington has said it can deny visas for security, terrorism, and foreign policy reasons.
The State Department said that the Palestinian Authority’s mission to the UN would not be included in the restrictions. It did not elaborate.
Close US allies Canada, Britain, Australia, and France in recent weeks announced or signaled their intention to recognize a Palestinian state during the UN General Assembly meeting.
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Turkey Bars Israeli Ships From Its Ports, Restricts Airspace
Turkey’s Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan speaks during a press conference following the inaugural meeting of the Balkans Peace Platform, a Turkish-led initiative aimed at fostering dialogue and cooperation across the Western Balkans, in Istanbul, Turkey, July 26, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Murad Seze
Turkey has decided to bar Israeli vessels from using its ports, forbid Turkish ships from using Israeli ports, and impose restrictions on planes entering Turkish airspace, Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said on Friday.
He provided few details in comments to parliament which appeared to summarize steps that Turkey has already taken against Israel over the war in Gaza or has started to implement.
Turkey has fiercely criticized Israel’s offensive in Gaza and accuses it of committing genocide in the Palestinian enclave, a charge that Israel denies. Ankara has halted all trade with Israel, called for international measures against it, and urged world powers to stop supporting Israel.
Sources told Reuters last week that Turkish port authorities had also started informally requiring shipping agents to provide letters declaring that vessels are not linked to Israel and not carrying military or hazardous cargo bound for the country.
A source had also said that Turkish-flagged ships would be prohibited from calling at Israeli ports.
“We have totally cut our trade with Israel, we have closed off our ports to Israeli ships and we are not allowing Turkish vessels to go to Israel’s ports,” Fidan told an extraordinary parliamentary session on Israel’s attacks on Gaza.
“We are not allowing container ships carrying weapons and ammunition to Israel to enter our ports, and airplanes to go into our airspace,” he added, without giving details.
Fidan also said Turkey had presidential approval to carry out air drops of aid to Gaza.
“Our planes are ready, once Jordan gives its approval, we will be in a position to go,” he told lawmakers.
The Israeli government did not immediately comment on his remarks.
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UK Blocks Israeli Officials From Its Biggest Defense Show
Visitors look at ammunition on display at the Defense and Security Equipment International trade show in this file photo in London, Britain, Sept. 12, 2017. Photo: REUTERS/Hannah McKay
Britain has barred Israeli officials from its biggest defense trade show over its escalation of the war against Hamas in Gaza, its latest effort to pressure a historically close ally over the conflict.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s government said in July it would recognize a Palestinian state unless Israel took steps to relieve suffering in the enclave and met other conditions, enraging the Israeli government.
Israel’s Ministry of Defense said that as a result of the trade fair ban it would not run its national pavilion as it has done previously at London’s Defense & Security Equipment International (DSEI) event.
Israeli defense companies, such as Elbit Systems, Rafael, IAI, and Uvision, will still be able to attend.
Britain’s move had echoes of a dispute at the Paris Air Show three months ago, when France blocked off with black partitions the stands of Israeli defense companies after they refused to remove attack weapons from display, sparking a furious response from Israel.
A British government spokesperson said on Friday that the Israeli government’s decision to further escalate its military operation in Gaza was wrong.
“As a result, we can confirm that no Israeli government delegation will be invited to attend DSEI UK 2025.”
“There must be a diplomatic solution to end this war now, with an immediate ceasefire, the return of the hostages and a surge in humanitarian aid to the people of Gaza,” the spokesperson added.
Israel said Britain’s decision was a “regrettable act of discrimination” and “introduces political considerations wholly inappropriate for a professional defense industry exhibition.”
The four-day show, due to open on Sept. 9, features national delegations and private companies, who showcase military kit and weapons at London’s Excel center. The event takes place every other year.
DSEI is organized by a private company, Clarion Defense and Security, but with backing from the British government and the military.