Palestinian Soccer Players to be Punished for Playing With Israelis
Advocates of the New Middle East have always relied on cultural exchanges to bridge the gap between Israelis and their Arab neighbors. And so during the Oslo years you saw an explosion in things like Israeli-Arab summer camps, sporting events, art shows, etc - all obviously opposed by those who don't want reconciliation. As it turns out, cultural exchanges were kind of useless when it came to stopping another war, but just in case there's something to the whole idea of Israelis and Arabs getting along, today's Palestinians isn't taking any chances:
Palestinian soccer players who took part in a highly publicized 'peace match' along with Israeli soccer stars last week may face punishment by their football association for playing alongside Israelis... Jamal Zaqout, a senior PFA official from Gaza... told the Post by phone from Gaza. "It's certain that everyone involved will be punished."...
"We are against the normalization of ties [with Israel] and therefore we oppose playing any game with any Israeli team until there will be peace," said Zaqout, who insisted he is a 'man of sports, not of politics.'
Totally pathological. Just simply and totally pathological.
Palestinian soccer players who took part in a highly publicized 'peace match' along with Israeli soccer stars last week may face punishment by their football association for playing alongside Israelis... Jamal Zaqout, a senior PFA official from Gaza... told the Post by phone from Gaza. "It's certain that everyone involved will be punished."...
"We are against the normalization of ties [with Israel] and therefore we oppose playing any game with any Israeli team until there will be peace," said Zaqout, who insisted he is a 'man of sports, not of politics.'
Totally pathological. Just simply and totally pathological.
