Officials from the Western-backed Palestinian Fatah faction yesterday slammed what they called “activities of normalization” with Israel. Top Fatah figures blasted the organizers of a sports match designed to promote coexistence between Palestinians and Israelis.
“Every now and then, some organizations who call themselves Palestinian come up with activities of normalization with the occupation. These activities are held either in some European capitals or even during visits to the occupying state,” the party’s Ramallah office said in a statement.
“The most recent activity was a football match involving Palestinian children, both male and female,” it added.
Young participants who took part in the match were threatened. The organization hosting the tournament, Mifalot, seeks to provide assistance to at-risk and special-needs children, as part of a program of “promoting peace and coexistence by creating bonds of friendship between Israelis, Palestinians, and Jordanians.”
Fatah objections do not appear to be grounded in any general antipathy to sports events themselves. Throughout April the Palestinian faction sponsored tournaments designed to glorify terrorists who murdered hundreds of Israeli civilians.