The Palestinian national football club championship has been called off after Israel denies travel permits to Gaza players who had hoped to face-off with their opponents in the occupied West Bank.
Israel on Wednesday refused to let players from Gaza’s Khadamat Rafah club travel several dozen kilometres through its territory to play Nablus’s FC Balata in the central West Bank.
The near 2 million Palestinians living in the narrow coastal enclave of Gaza must request permits from Israel to travel to the West Bank.
Israeli officials have not given a public explanation on why the permits were rejected.
Media reports quoted Israeli security sources as saying the team members were believed to have alleged links to “terrorism”.
Only 12 of the Gaza club’s 35 members were granted permits, with just five of them being players, the team said.
