Palestinian soccer team honors terrorist, incites murder

A Jerusalem-based Palestinian soccer team honored a terrorist who murdered two Israelis this week in cold blood.

The Jerusalem-based Hilal Al-Quds Palestinian soccer team on Thursday stood for a moment of silence in honor of terrorist Musbah Abu Sbeih, who shot and killed two Israelis and wounded six others in a terrorist attack in Jerusalem on Sunday at a light rail station before being eliminated by Israeli security forces.

Players also took a selfie while holding signs with the terrorist’s photo, including a caption praising him for killing a 29-year-old police officer.

The other dead victim is a 60-year-old grandmother.

Team leaders and fans proudly posted the photo on the team’s Facebook page.

Team spokesperson Teama Obyadath apologized for publicizing the picture on social media, only because doing so is against FIFA’s rules. He expressed no regret for taking them.

“Our fans are very angry about Abu Sbeih’s death, but they will take the picture off social media. It goes against FIFA regulations,” Obyadath stated.

The photo, however, came to the attention of FIFA, the international governing body of football, which said it will punish the team for publicly supporting terror.

The Palestinian Football Association, headed by terrorist Jibril Rajoub, who was released from Israeli prison in exchange for hostages, has been trying for several years to have Israel expelled from FIFA, with no success.

On Thursday, in the most recent attempt, Rajoub called on FIFA to act against Israeli clubs based in Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria, which he referred to as “settlements in the occupied West Bank.”

Minister of Strategic Affairs Gilad Erdan wrote on his Facebook page on Thursday that despite the ongoing Palestinian efforts to ostracize the Israeli football team, “we were successful in thwarting another Palestinian attempt to have Israeli soccer teams banned from FIFA. This is our message to FIFA and all those who support boycotts on Israel – leave soccer out of politics.”

Fatah, the ruling party of the Palestinian Authority, also paid tribute to Abu Sbeih,  declaring him a martyr immediately after the terror attack on Sunday.

By: World Israel News Staff
(With files from Arutz-7)

FIFAGilad ErdanIncitementJibril RajoubPalestinian terror