News - World: More than 70 athletes have signed a letter calling on the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) to suspend Israel over grave human rights violations against Palestinians in Gaza and across the occupied territories.

The appeal, sent on Tuesday to UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin by the group Athletes for Peace, urged the governing body to cut ties with the Israel Football Association.

“No shared venue, stage, or arena in international civil society should welcome a regime that commits genocide, apartheid, and other crimes against humanity,” the letter states.

The athletes added that “Israel’s continued impunity for such crimes will only be ended by the weight of collective conscientious action, including measures to block their entry to sporting or cultural events and activities.”

The letter was written by the advocacy group Game Over Israel, which has been leading campaigns to bar Israel from international sports and cultural events.

The athletes who endorsed the call include French World Cup winner Paul Pogba, Dutch forward Anwar El Ghazi, Moroccan player Hakim Ziyech and Spanish winger Adama Traore.

Human rights advocacy groups, including the Hind Rajab Foundation and the Gaza Tribunal, have also signed the letter.

Calls to boycott Israeli sports, particularly football, continue to gain momentum, as nearly 1,000 Palestinian athletes have been killed over the past two years, including 421 footballers.

Israel continues to entrench its occupation of the West Bank and East al-Quds, which the International Court of Justice (ICJ) says is “tantamount to the crime of apartheid.”

The rights groups’ letter argued that Israel has used football to legitimize its occupation in these areas.

Israel allows clubs from illegal settlements in the occupied West Bank to participate in its professional leagues, in an apparent violation of FIFA rules.

“The participation of teams from illegal settlements in Israeli football leagues is a breach of fundamental principles of international law,” the letter read.

“UEFA’s relationship with FIFA – providing funding and allowing Israeli teams to play in international tournaments – means that UEFA may also be facilitating these violations and may themselves be accountable.”

The petition follows mounting pressure from rights groups and football federations.

In September, the Turkish Football Federation supported a call to suspend Israel, while earlier this month, the Football Association of Ireland passed a similar resolution.

Although last month's ceasefire nominally ended Israel's genocidal war on Gaza, the regime has continued to kill Palestinians and restrict aid to the besieged Palestinian territory.

Leading human rights groups and United Nations investigators have described Israel’s war on Gaza as a genocide.

Since October 7, 2023, nearly 70,000 Palestinians have been killed, with tens of thousands more still trapped under the rubble and unaccounted for. 

Source: Press TV