BDS slams FIFA over shielding Israel from suspension until after Paris Olympics

The international anti-Israel movement of Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) has taken a swipe at the world football governing body, FIFA, over its decision to postpone the vote on suspension of Israel from international football until after the Paris Olympics.

The BDS and various human rights organizations criticized FIFA for shielding the occupying regime from accountability for its atrocities and brutal aggression against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.

The BDS movement said in a statement that the Israeli military offensives have killed several young Palestinian footballers over the past few days, resulting in the injury of Sayyed Yousef Odeh, 16, 11-year-old Yazan al-Sarsawi, and Shadi Abu al-Arraj, 36.

It further noted that at least 30 Palestinians, including children playing football, were killed on July 9, when Israeli forces bombed the UNRWA-ran al-Awdah School in the town of Abbasan, east of Khan Younis in southern Gaza.

The statement then detailed the devastating impact of the Gaza conflict on Palestinian sports, highlighting that at least 240 Palestinian footballers, including 67 minors, have been killed at the hands of Israeli soldiers.

Another 15 individuals have been injured, and a dozen more are languishing behind bars in prisons, it added.

#RedCardIsrael: Calls to ban Israel from global football grow as FIFA meets on July 20

FIFA is set to convene an extraordinary meeting on July 20 to discuss sanctioning Israel over its genocidal war crimes against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.

The Israeli military has also targeted and damaged 49 Palestinian sports facilities, using some stadiums as detention and torture centers.

The BDS movement, supported by various UN officials, footballers, and politicians, further argued that FIFA’s continued inaction contributes to a climate of “total impunity” for Israel which is perpetrating genocide in Gaza.

The statement stressed that international sporting bodies must be pressured to hold Israel accountable, drawing parallels to the international isolation of apartheid South Africa.

BDS also called for peaceful disruptions of all Israeli participation in regional and international sports events, urging people of conscience to act where governments and institutions have failed.

On May 16, the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) supported Palestine’s proposal to suspend Israel from FIFA over the regime’s criminal war in the Gaza Strip, killing nearly 39,000 Palestinians.

During the 34th AFC Congress, which concluded in Thailand’s capital Bangkok, the regional body’s president Sheikh Salman bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa voiced his support for the motion by the Palestine Football Association (PFA).

Since 2014, the Palestinian football federation has raised the matter of suspending Israel at least five times, but calls have grown louder since October last year when the Israeli regime launched the genocidal war against Palestinians in the besieged Gaza Strip.

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