FIFA, which issued the order on Friday, has promised to address the PFA’s proposal at an extraordinary meeting of its council in July.
World soccer governing body, the Federation of International Football Association (FIFA), has ordered an urgent legal review of a proposal by the Palestinian Football Association (PFA) to suspend Israel from international competitions over its war with Hamas in Gaza.
Reuters reports that FIFA, which issued the order on Friday, has promised to address the PFA’s proposal at an extraordinary meeting of its council in July.
It was reported that FIFA President, Gianni Infantino, took the decision at an annual Congress in Bangkok, where the PFA president made an emotional plea to delegates to hold a vote to suspend Israel from all club and national competitions, accusing it of multiple breaches of FIFA statutes.
The Palestinian proposal accused the Israel Football Association (IFA) of complicity in violations of international law by the Israeli government, discrimination against Arab players, and inclusion in its league of clubs located in Palestinian territory, but the IFA denied the allegations.
Palestine's PFA request for sanctions against the IFA is said to have come two years after FIFA's decision to suspend Russia from international competitions over its invasion of Ukraine.
PFA President Jibril Rajoub, was quoted as saying that "FIFA cannot afford to remain indifferent to these violations or to the ongoing genocide in Palestine, just as it did not remain indifferent to numerous precedents.
"How much more must the Palestinian football family suffer for FIFA to act with the same urgency and severity as it did in other cases? Does FIFA consider some wars to be more important than others and some victims to be more significant?"
Rajoub added that 193 Palestinian players had been killed, football infrastructure destroyed, its leagues suspended and its national team required to play World Cup qualifiers abroad.
The proposal was reportedly sent to FIFA in March and added to the Congress agenda with the support of the Algerian, Jordanian, Syrian and Yemeni federations.
Reuters also reports that the Asian Football Confederation gave its backing on Thursday for action against Israel.
But IFA chief Shino Moshe Zuares, said that the proposal was based on motives and ambitions that "have nothing to do with the spirit of sports or the FIFA value of separating sports from politics.
"Today, maybe more than ever, I believe that football must be a key element in healing the fractures and the wounds, helping us and everyone to recover.
"Yet, once again, we are facing a cynical, political, and hostile attempt by the PFA to harm Israeli football.
"I am holding myself back and will not speak about the true motives out of respect for this institution."