Palestinian football chief refuses to pose with Israeli counterpart at Fifa event

<article data-history-node-id="439377" about="https://www.middleeasteye.net/live-blog/live-blog-update/palestinian-football-chief-refuses-pose-next-israeli-counterpart-fifa" class="live-blog-update default clearfix"> <h2> <a href="https://www.middleeasteye.net/live-blog/live-blog-update/palestinian-football-chief-refuses-pose-next-israeli-counterpart-fifa" rel="bookmark"> <span class="field field-title">Palestinian football chief refuses to pose with Israeli counterpart at Fifa event</span> </a> </h2> <div class="content"> <div class="field field-field-text"><p>The President of the Palestine Football Association Jibril Rajoub has denied posing alongside&nbsp;Vice-President of the Israeli Football Association Basim Sheikh Suliman.</p> <p>"I cannot shake the hand of someone the Israelis have brought to whitewash their fascism and genocide. We are suffering," Rajoub told Reuters.</p> <p>Fifa President Gianni Infantino called both to the stand, but Rajoub declined to be near Suliman.</p> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> <p dir="ltr" lang="en">“How can I shake hands or have a photo with such a man?”<br> <br> Palestinian FA president Jibril Rajoub, who refused to shake hands with Israel’s football official during the Fifa Congress in Vancouver, said he can’t shake hands with someone who “is representing a criminal like Bibi” <a href="https://t.co/Gv5tVSuTfi">pic.twitter.com/Gv5tVSuTfi</a></p> — Middle East Eye (@MiddleEastEye) <a href="https://twitter.com/MiddleEastEye/status/2050095679951798530?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 1, 2026</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> </div> </div> </article>