Resolution 181

Culture and Sport Minister Miri Regev on Wednesday called on FIFA to take action against Jibril Rajoub, the head of the Palestinian Football Association, following his recent inciting remarks against Israel. In a recent interview on Palestinian Authority TV, Rajoub advocated murdering Jews in Judea and Samaria. Actually, he told the interviewer, if not for world opinion it would be fine for Palestinians to blow themselves up on buses, at malls, etc. throughout Israel. But at least for now, he said, “the world will not accept bus explosions in Tel Aviv, so it is better we do not perpetrate those kinds of attacks.” But the world would have no problem accepting – and even praising – attacks against “settlers,” so terrorists should concentrate on those, he added. In response, Regev contacted the acting president of FIFA, demanding that Rajoub be condemned and that his attempts to take advantage of FIFA in order to promote hatred and incitement against Israel be thwarted. "Jibril Rajoub's remarks are nothing short of incitement to murder,” Regev wrote on her Facebook page Wednesday, adding that ‘[Rajoub’s] words are further evidence of his real motives in the actions he leads against Israel at FIFA, while cynically exploiting international sports institutions in order to promote an anti-Israel agenda and supporting terrorism in a manner completely contrary to the values of international sport.” “I sincerely hope that FIFA will not ignore the fact that the chairman of a football association encourages the murder of innocent people,” she added. Rajoub, who is a senior member of Abbas’s Fatah movement, is known for his inciting statements against Israel, which include claiming in a television interview that Nazi leader Adolf Hitler could have learned from Israel about extermination camps. He has suggested in the past that Israel "should be removed" , and last year supported Hamas's threats to kidnap IDF soldiers on PA TV. Most recently, Rajoub campaigned to have Israel suspended from FIFA because, he claimed, Israel was restricting the movement of Palestinian Arab players. However, he withdrew the bid at the 11th hour, sparking anger among Palestinian Arabs , some of whom have demanded Rajoub’s resignation.