The FIFA Council is poised to make a decision Thursday regarding a potential suspension of Israel from international football.
The Palestinian Football Association (PFA) first introduced the proposal to suspend the Israeli federation in April, raising the issue at the FIFA Congress the following month. The PFA cited alleged violations of FIFA's rules, which Israel has firmly rejected.
This proposal emerged amid the ongoing conflict in Gaza, and the FIFA Council's upcoming decision comes as tensions in the Middle East have intensified, with Iran now drawn into the fray.
FIFA President Gianni Infantino said at the congress in May that an independent legal assessment of the PFA's proposal would need to take place, with the FIFA Council set to review the assessment in July.
The timeframe for a decision was further extended in July, and on Aug. 31, FIFA announced it had received the assessment and that a decision would be made at its Council meeting in October.
Thursday's meeting is scheduled to start at 11 a.m. GMT.
Speaking at the Congress in May, PFA President Jibril Rajoub said, "How much more must the Palestine football family suffer for FIFA to act with the same severity and urgency as it did in other cases?
"Does FIFA consider some wars to be more important than others and some victims to be more significant?
"I ask you to stand on the right side of history. The suffering of millions, including thousands of footballers, deserves as much. If not now, then when?"
His Israeli counterpart, Moshe Zuares, said at the same event that Israeli lives "had become hell" since the Hamas' Oct. 7 incursion.
"It is an injustice that even in these circumstances we find ourselves fighting for our basic right to be part of the game," he said.
"We are facing a cynical political and hostile attempt by the Palestinian association to harm Israeli football.
"Nothing will make me prouder than to lead, sometime in the future when the atmosphere is right, an Israeli team in a friendly match against the Palestinians.
"This will certainly contribute to a better future for both peoples. My hand is always outstretched, even if the other remains clenched."
