Europe’s governing football body has banned Israel’s national broadcaster from showing World Cup and Euro 2020 football matches in illegal settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories.

Israeli broadcaster Kan bid around $5.8 million for the rights to Israel’s early round games in the football competitions, but will not be able to broadcast them to Jewish settlers in East Jerusalem and the occupied West Bank.

The contract with UEFA, the Union of European Football Associations, states that Kan may only broadcast matches inside the so-called Green Line and not the “Palestinian territories”, Israeli media reported.

Hey Jemele, I look forward to your series on the Israeli Defense Forces shooting unarmed Palestinian protesters, including ending the careers of some Palestinian athletes. You wont self censor because of Jeffrey, will you? https://t.co/QsnqL3Sg4F

— dead patsy (@ChrisRulon) October 1, 2018

Kan has been negotiating for nearly a year with UEFA to be able to broadcast the games to settlers, but Europe’s football body has not revised its policy.

The Israeli broadcaster was planning to show matches using Israeli cable and satellite technology which would only be available to Jewish settlers, not Palestinians, in the occupied territories.

A Qatari company has bought the rights to broadcast matches in the Middle East and North Africa, including the occupied Palestinian territories.

I’m definitely no fan of Jibril Rajoub, but it’s incredible @FIFAcom banned him for a year for calling for protests, while FIFA continues to allow Israel to blatantly flout its own rules against holding games in illegal settlements in occupied territories. https://t.co/lkCIvnd772

— Ali Abunimah (@AliAbunimah) August 24, 2018

Upcoming qualifying matches for Israel’s national team do not appear on Kan’s broadcasting schedule.

All Jewish settlements are seen as illegal under international law and major obstacles to peace as they are built on occupied Palestinian territory.

More than 600,000 settlers live among 2.9 million Palestinians in the West Bank and annexed east Jerusalem.

The #WorldCup has come to an end, but we cannot stop thinking about Israel’s violations that prevent Palestinians from playing football.

Israel should be suspended from FIFA until it ends its attacks on Palestinian football.

(image from @visualizingpal) pic.twitter.com/aueAiTJjfz

— CODEPINK (@codepink) July 16, 2018

As a financial incentive for the expansion of settlements, the average settler receives three times more in public subsidies than a resident of Israel within its pre-1967 borders.

(Al-Araby Al-Jadeed, PC, Social Media)