FIFA cancels U-20 World Cup draw as Indonesia refuses Zionist Entity’s participation

By: Hana Saada 

ALGIERS–  The International Federation of Football Associations (FIFA) canceled the draw for the Under-20 World Cup, which was scheduled to take place on Friday, following the request of Indonesia not to host the team of the Zionist Entity.

Amid a protest against the Zionist Entity’s participation in the FIFA U-20 World championship, the draw that was slated to take place on Friday, March 31st, 2023, in Bali, Indonesia, has been cancelled, Kann News reported.

The Jakarta Post reported, earlier this month, that Bali’s governor Wayan Koster had written to the Ministry of Youth and Sports, imploring them to “adopt a policy forbidding the Zionist team from competing in Bali” due to the occupation of Palestine.

The letter was also sent to the PSSI.  “Previously, Bali governor Wayan Koster rejected the presence of the Zionist national team in the FIFA U-20 World Cup event … This can be a reason for FIFA to cancel the U-20 World Cup draw,” the PSSI said in a statement.

Indonesian news agencies reported that a meeting took place, on Friday, between the Indonesian President, Joko Widodo, and the Palestinian ambassador to the country, where the Palestinian cause was discussed.

Earlier this month, protesters marched in the capital of Jakarta, waving Indonesian and Palestinian flags, while demanding the Zionist Entity not be allowed to participate.

Over the past year, the Zionist forces have made thousands of arrests in the West Bank and killed more than 200 Palestinians.

Indonesia’s honorable move is a slap in the face of the Makhzen regime which, on  December 10, 2020, normalized its relations with the Zionist Entity in exchange for the recognition by former US President Donald Trump of the kingdom’s alleged “sovereignty” over Western Sahara. This barter was strongly condemned throughout the world and especially by the Moroccan people who took to the streets for several days to express their rejection of this agreement, demonstrations often repressed by the regime in place.

In 2020, UAE, Bahrain, Sudan, and Morocco signed normalization agreements with the Zionist Entity, under the auspices of the US, and held a high-profile security meeting in the Negev. However, for decades, relations between Morocco and the Zionist Entity have always been more than just cordial. Although Morocco did not formally recognize the entity until the Abraham Accords, it maintained informal ties with it. Observers consider 2020 normalization as a resume of relations as this latter date back to the 1960s, during the reign of the late King Hassan II. Relations were marked by the immigration of Moroccan Jews to the Zionist Entity and meetings between officials from the two sides.

Following Morocco-Zionist Entity roller-coaster journey, both sides made their longstanding—albeit concealed—friendship official in December 2020 when they signed a normalization agreement that ensured “full diplomatic, peaceful, and friendly relations” under US patronage. Subsequently, a range of agreements were signed between the North African country and the Zionist Entity.

More recently, and during a meeting, held in January 2023, and chaired by Belkhair Al-Farouq, Inspector General of the Royal Armed Forces, and Dror Shalom, Director of the Office of Political-Military Affairs at the Zionist Ministry of Defense, various fields of bilateral military cooperation were discussed, especially logistics, and training, as well as the acquisition and modernization of equipment. The two sides agreed to further strengthen what the Zionists called “more cooperation to expand it to include other fields, especially intelligence, air defense and electronic warfare.” The Inspector General of the Royal Armed Forces said, according to the source, that “Moroccan-Israeli military cooperation carries common interests and is based on trust and mutual support”!!

In short, while countries, like Algeria and Indonesia are abiding by their honorary principled positions, in favor the Palestinian cause, Morocco is accelerating the pace of its embrace of the usurping entity in security, militarily, politically, economically and commercially as well, betraying the central Palestinian cause.