Following his arrest, decade-old photos surfaced showing him wearing Hamas uniforms alongside senior members of the terror group. Abu Safiya holds the rank of colonel in the terror group\u2019s Military Medical Services, according to the service and Palestinian media reports.<\/p>\n
\t The Military Medical Services is separate from Hamas\u2019s military wing, the al-Qassam Brigades, though its members directly participated in Hamas\u2019s October 7, 2023, terror onslaught in southern Israel, which sparked the Gaza war.<\/p>\n Faisal Ibrahim, a spokesperson for the activists, accused FIFA of being complicit with Israel\u2019s actions against Palestinians.<\/p>\n \u201cFIFA not only turns a blind eye to the Israel Football Association\u2019s playing of games on illegally occupied West Bank and Syrian territory, it actually actively broadcasts those games, thereby normalizing occupation and erasure, which makes FIFA an active and complicit participant,\u201d he told Reuters.<\/p>\n In March, global soccer\u2019s ruling body said it would take no action against Israeli clubs accused by the Palestine Football Association of competing while allegedly based in Palestinian territory, citing the unresolved legal status of the West Bank under international law.<\/p>\n UN experts have also appealed to FIFA and the Union of European Football Associations to suspend Israel from international football.<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t The war with Iran has been draining for all of us in Israel. But when I heard about a high casualty incident \u2013 ballistic missile impacts in Arad and Dimona that left nearly 200 people wounded \u2013 I drank a cup of coffee, packed a bag, and headed south.<\/p>\n There, I spoke with Shilgit, the head of an after-school program for underprivileged youth. Standing outside her destroyed center, Shilgit said it was a miracle that no children were hurt and spoke about the community coming together in the hours since.<\/p>\n As a Times of Israel reporter, I\u2019m committed to telling stories of resilience like Shilgit\u2019s. But my colleagues and I can’t do this alone. If you value work like this, please consider joining our reader support group, The Times of Israel Community. Your financial support is essential to keep real human reporting like this going.<\/p>\n \u2014 Stav Levaton, military reporter<\/p>\n \t\t\t
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