Palestinian Football Association president Jibril Rajoub has refused to shake hands with Israel’s representative at the Fifa congress on April 30.
Susan Shalabi, the Palestinian FA vice-president, told Reuters that Rajoub said: “I cannot shake the hand of someone the Israelis have brought to whitewash their fascism and genocide. We are suffering.”
Fifa boss Gianni Infantino had urged the two representatives to shake hands to “give hope to the children” amid “complex matters”.
Rajoub had just delivered a speech pleading with Israeli clubs to stop basing teams in the occupied West Bank.
“To be put in a position to have a handshake after everything that was said – this negates the whole purpose of the speech that the general [Rajoub] was giving,” said Shalabi.
Fifa said last month it would take no action against the Israel Football Association or Israeli clubs, citing the unresolved legal status of the West Bank under public international law.
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