Fifa Congress: Infantino tried to stage an Israel-Palestine handshake. He failed

Fifa Congress: Infantino tried to stage an Israel-Palestine handshake. He failed Submitted by Dalia Anis on Fri, 05/01/2026 - 11:33 'I cannot shake the hand of someone the Israelis have brought to whitewash their fascism and genocide,' the Palestinian Football Association chief reportedly said Fifa President Gianni Infantino speaks with the president of the Palestinian Football Association, Jibril Rajoub, as the vice president of the Israel Football Association, Basim Sheikh Suliman, looks on during a heated moment in the 76th Fifa Congress in Vancouver, Canada, on 30 April 2026 (Don Mackinnon/AFP) Off The president of the Palestinian Football Association declined to be photographed alongside the vice president of the Israel Football Association after Fifa President Gianni Infantino attempted to orchestrate a handshake between the two representatives. Infantino had invited both men onstage and gestured to Jibril Rajoub, the Palestinian representative, to move closer to his Israeli counterpart, Basim Sheikh ⁠Suliman, at the international football body's gathering in Vancouver on Thursday.