Jibril Rajoub
Jibril Rajoub | |
---|---|
President of the Palestinian Football Association | |
Assumed office 11 May 2008 | |
Preceded by | Ahmed Al-Afifi |
Chairman of the Palestine Olympic Committee | |
Assumed office 20 December 2008 | |
Preceded by | Ahmed al-Qudwa |
Personal details | |
Born | Jibril Mahmoud Muhammad Rajoub 14 May 1953 Jordanian West Bank |
Nationality | Palestine |
Political party | Fatah |
Occupation | Politician |
Military service | |
Rank | Major general |
Jibril Mahmoud Muhammad Rajoub (
Biography
Early years
Rajoub was born in the town of Dura, near Hebron. In 1968, he was arrested by Shin Bet at age 15 on suspicion of aiding fleeing Egyptian officers, and spent four months in prison.[1] While in prison, he met a local Fatah leader, who recommended that he be accepted into the organization, which was then secretive. After his release, he joined Fatah. His tasks were to assist fighters and build up cells in the Hebron hills.[1][8]
In September 1970, Rajoub was arrested for throwing a grenade at an Israeli army bus near Hebron. He was tried and convicted of this attack and of membership in an armed group, and sentenced to life in prison. He became a prominent figure among prisoners, leading hunger strikes and protests. He also studied
1985–1993
In 1985, Rajoub was one of 1,150 Arab prisoners freed in exchange for three Israeli hostages held by the PFLP-GC.[9][10] He was soon rearrested for resuming militant activities, and was interrogated and placed in solitary confinement. He was hospitalized after a 30-day hunger strike. After his recovery, he returned to prison, and was released seven months later. In September 1986, he was arrested again for militant activity, and was imprisoned until March 1987.[1]
Rajoub continued to work with Fatah cells in the West Bank. He was arrested for his activities during the First Intifada in December 1987, and was deported to Lebanon in January 1988.[1][4] He relocated to Tunis, Tunisia, where he was an advisor on the intifada to Fatah deputy leader Khalil al-Wazir. After Wazir's assassination by Israeli commandos, he became a close lieutenant of Arafat, and was allegedly behind a 1992 plot to assassinate Ariel Sharon.[11]
1994–present
In 1994, Rajoub was allowed to return to the West Bank following the signing of the
Since 2006 Rajoub has been President of the Palestinian Football Association.[13] He is also President of the Palestine Olympic Committee, Head of the PLO Supreme Council for Sport and Youth Affairs and Chairman of the Palestinian Scout Association.[6] He was awarded the Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Creative Sports Award for sports administrative creativity in 2013.[14]
In an interview which aired on Palestinian Authority TV on September 23, 2011 (as a response to a speech by U.S. President
In June 2012, as head of the
In 2013, Rajoub told
In November 2015, Rajoub named a table tennis tournament in honor of Muhannad Halabi, who had stabbed and killed two Israeli civilians in Jerusalem a month prior.[18] A poster advertising the tournament featured two images of Halabi, and stated: "patronage of the leader Jibril Rajoub, head of the Palestine Olympic Committee." He also attended a boxing match named in honor of Ali Hassan Salameh, a planner of Black September, which killed 11 Israeli Olympians during the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich.[19]
In August 2018 Rajoub was fined CHF 20,000 (US$20,333) and banned by the
In January 2019 FIFA launched an investigation into Rajoub for glorifying terror and inciting violence.[23] A letter by FIFA's chief of investigations on its ethics committee alleged that Rajoub “glorified terrorism,” politicized football, employed racist language when referring to Israelis, including comparisons to “Satan and Nazis,” and encouraged football competitions and teams to be named after convicted Palestinian terrorists.[23]
References
- ^ a b c d e f Issacharoff, Avi (2009-09-24): "Ex-Fatah strongman: Israel won't live securely until occupation ends", Haaretz
- ^ Marcus, Itamar; Hirsch, Maurice. "Terror promotion by Jibril Rajoub, Chairman of the Palestine Olympic Committee". Official Palestinian Authority TV , Palestinian Media Watch.
{{cite web}}
: Missing or empty|url=
(help) - ^ a b "Fatah: New leaders declare 'revolution'". Agence France-Presse. 11 August 2009. Retrieved 10 March 2010.
- ^ a b Kafal, Tarik (25 March 2002). "Profile: Jibril Rajoub". BBC News. Retrieved 10 March 2010.
- New York Times. Retrieved 10 March 2010.
- ^ a b c PA and Fatah personalities, Jibril Rajoub on palwatch.org, retrieved 3 August 2017
- ^ Fatah picks first-ever deputy for Abbas, sidelines Barghouti, timesofisreal.com, 16 February 2017, retrieved 3 August 2017
- ^ a b Goldberg, Jeffrey (14 September 1997). "From Peace Process To Police Process". The New York Times.
- ^ Yezid Sayigh. Armed struggle and the search for state the Palestinian national movement, 1949–1993. Oxford: Clarendon, p. 609
- ^ "Fatah Praises Hamas Terrorists Who Kidnapped Gilad Shalit". Arutz Sheva.
- ^ a b "Jibril Rajoub Biography". geocities.com. 28 October 2009. Archived from the original on 28 October 2009.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) - ^ "Profile: Jibril Rajoub". BBC News. 25 March 2002.
- ^ Palästinenser sollen für Fußball-Sieg beten (German), sueddeutsche.de, 22 June 2011, retrieved 3 August 2017
- ^ Winners of the Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Creative Sports Award announced, Khaleej Times, 26 November 2012, retrieved 5 May 2019
- ^ Fatah Central Committee Member Jibril Rajoub: Obama's UN Speech Idiotic, "Sounded Like the Speech of a Student Leader", MEMRI, Clip No. 3129 (transcript), September 23, 2011. (video clip available here).
- ^ Terrorist Chief of Palestinian Olympic Committee Calls Minute of Silence Requests 'Racism' by Yori Yanover, Jewish Press, July 26th, 2012.
- Ynetnews.
- ^ JNi.Media (2016-07-28). "Olympic Committee Rejects Media Watchdog's Call to Ban Palestine Olympic Committee Head Rajoub | The Jewish Press – JewishPress.com | JNi.Media | 22 Tammuz 5776 – July 28, 2016". JewishPress.com. Retrieved 2020-01-02.
- ^ "Palestinian Olympians deserve better than Jibril Rajoub - the Boston Globe". The Boston Globe.
- ^ "Fifa bans Palestinian FA president Jibril Rajoub for Lionel Messi comments". BBC.
- ^ "FIFA Disciplinary Committee sanctions Palestinian FA President". FIFA. Archived from the original on August 24, 2018.
- ^ Lemire, Jonathan (2019-07-19). "Palestinian soccer chief loses appeal over Messi incitement". The Times of Israel. Retrieved 2020-01-02.
- ^ a b By TheTower.org Staff (2014-03-26). "Report: FIFA Investigates Palestinian Football Chief for Glorifying Terrorism". The Tower. Retrieved 2020-01-02.