Sepp Blatter keen to broker deal in Israel-Palestine dispute

Fifa chief Sepp Blatter has called on Israel to make concessions in order to prevent a vote to expel Israel from football's governing body later this month.

Mr Blatter will this week meet with Israel and Palestinian leaders, and before leaving for the Middle East he stressed that he was seeking a compromise that will prevent a vote at the Fifa congress in Zurich on May 29th on the Palestinian motion to bar Israel from international competition.

The motion will need a three-quarters majority of Fifa’s 209 members to pass.

“A solution is only a realistic proposition when those who are privileged are prepared to concede something and contribute to equality,” he said. “The onus in this respect is on Israel with its outstanding infrastructure, fully functioning professional league and economic context.”

Simmering Mr Blatter will meet Israeli prime minister

Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem tomorrow and Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah on Thursday.

The dispute, described by Mr Blatter as his “number one challenge” as he bids for his fifth term as Fifa president, has been simmering for a couple of years.

Palestine Football Association president Jibril Rajoub accuses Israel of restricting the access and movement of Palestinian footballers and other athletes between Gaza and the West Bank and within the West Bank itself.

Mr Rajoub, a former West Bank security chief, also complains that five teams from West Bank Jewish settlements, deemed illegal by the international community, compete in the lower divisions of the Israeli league.

Israel admits that some players, identified by the security forces as having links to Palestinian militant groups, have been prevented from entering the West Bank.

Israel sees the Palestinian motion as a test case for a wider BDS (boycotts, divestment and sanctions) campaign, similar to the anti-apartheid movement in South Africa.

Israel's foreign ministry has gone on the offensive, holding talks with sports ministers and heads of football federations in more than 100 countries. Israel Football Association president Ofer Eini accused the Palestinians of mixing sports and politics.

“It is clear to me that most Fifa members understand very well the intention behind this Palestinian move and the destructive impact it would have on the organisation.”