Palestinian Football Federation President Jibril Rajoub has refused to take part in a photo opportunity with his Israeli counterpart Basim Sheikh Suliman in a tense incident at the end of FIFA's Congress.
After both Rajoub and Suliman had addressed delegates on Thursday, FIFA President Gianni Infantino invited both men to stand alongside him.
However, Rajoub declined the gesture, refusing repeated attempts by Infantino to encourage him to participate in the moment.
At one point, Rajoub could be heard to say: "We are suffering."
Asked what Rajoub said when he refused, Palestinian FA Vice-President Susan Shalabi, who was in the room, told Reuters news agency: "I cannot shake the hand of someone the Israelis have brought to whitewash their fascism and genocide! We are suffering."
Infantino then took the stand and said: "We will work together, President Rajoub, Vice-President Suliman. Let's work together to give hope to the children. These are complex matters."
No consideration
Speaking to Reuters after the Congress ended, Shalabi said Infantino's attempt to have Suliman and Rajoub shake hands showed little consideration for the Palestinian FA chief's speech, in which he made yet another plea for Israeli clubs not to base teams in the occupied West Bank settlements.
"To be put in a position where to have a handshake after everything that was said, this negates the whole purpose of the speech that the general (Rajoub) was giving," she said.
"He spent like 15 minutes trying to explain to everyone how the rules matter, how this could easily become a precedent where the rights of member associations are violated with impudence, and then we'll just wrap this under the carpet. It was absurd."
The Palestinian Football Association recently appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) over FIFA's refusal to sanction Israel over football clubs based in the occupied West Bank.
The PFA maintains that clubs based in occupied West Bank settlements should not be allowed to compete in leagues controlled by Israeli football authorities.
In 2024, United Nations experts said at least eight football clubs had been identified as playing in "Israeli colonial settlements" and called on FIFA to "fulfil its responsibility to respect human rights".
Rajoub invokes erosion of Palestine’s sport
Speaking to reporters on Thursday, Rajoub called on FIFA to "apply the statutes with fairness, with logic."
"What's going on in Palestine is terrible, destroying all the Palestinian sport facilities in Gaza, the killings of hundreds of Palestinian athletes, employees... I think it's now the time to make justice," Rajoub said.
"The guy who spoke on behalf of Israel, he did not even pay attention to the suffering, to what's going on.
"I refused to shake hands. How can I shake hands or have a photo with such a man?"
