JERUSALEM: Palestinian football officials praised Argentina and its star Lionel Messi on Wednesday for calling off a friendly match against Israel that Israeli officials had planned to move to Jerusalem.

Argentina’s final World Cup warm-up against Israel was originally slated to be held in the Israeli coastal city of Haifa but was moved to Jerusalem at the urging of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government.

Argentina striker Gonzalo Higuain announced on Tuesday it was cancelled.

“In the end, they’ve done right thing, and this is behind us,” Higuain told ESPN. “Health and common sense come first. We felt that it wasn’t right to go.”

The Palestinian Football Association — which had urged Messi not to take part — welcomed the scrapping of the game, insisting sport should not “be a tool for politicians and for political extortion”.

“What happened...is a red card from everybody to the Israelis,” association boss Jibril Rajoub said at a press conference on Wednesday in the West Bank city of Ramallah. “The Israelis tried to use Messi and those stars from Argentina, and I would like to thank them and appreciate their decision, which I think was on the right track.”

Rajoub has long tried to get football’s world governing body, FIFA, and the International Olympic Committee to impose sanctions against Israel.

He believes Israel should be punished for restricting movement of Palestinian players, and for forming teams in West Bank settlements.

At the entrance to the news conference was a placard saying “From Palestine, thank you Messi” with Argentinian and Palestinian flags, under a big photo of Rajoub posing with the Barcelona ace.

It was a change of tone from Rajoub, who on Sunday had called for Palestinians to burn replica Messi shirts and photos if the Argentinian played in Jerusalem.

Rajoub had accused Israel of playing politics with the game, by moving it from its original location in Haifa to Jerusalem, and by trying to link it to celebrations surrounding Israel’s 70th anniversary.

Israel’s Football Association accused the Palestinians of crossing a “red line” by inciting anger towards the Argentinian players in order to scupper the match. It said it would complain to FIFA about Rajoub’s comments, which it described as “physical and brutal threats”.

The Palestinians opposed the decision to hold the match in Jerusalem, accusing Israel of seeking to use the fixture, and especially the presence of global star Messi, to underpin Israel’s claim to the Holy City.

Israel considers all of Jerusalem its capital, while Palestinians want the eastern part of the city as capital of their own state.

Although the Teddy Kollek stadium is in west Jerusalem, it is located in a neighborhood built where a Palestinian village once stood before it was destroyed in the war surrounding Israel’s independence in 1948.

Most countries say Jerusalem’s status must be left to be resolved in future peace talks, although US President Donald Trump reversed American policy last year to recognise the city as capital of Israel.

Palestinian football officials say they would have had no issue if the match were held as planned in Haifa, but it should not have been moved to Jerusalem.

“It’s a shame that Argentina’s footballing nobility did not withstand the pressure from Israeli-hating inciters,” Israeli Defence Minister Avigdor Lieberman wrote on Twitter on Wednesday.

He said the sole aim of opponents of the Jerusalem game was “to strike at our basic right to self-defence and to bring about the destruction of Israel”.

Argentine Foreign Minister Jorge Faurie said before confirmation of the game’s cancellation that he believed his country’s players had been reluctant to travel to Israel for the match.

“As far as I know, the players of the national team were not willing to play the game,” Faurie said.

Argentina coach Jorge Sampaoli last week aired misgivings about having his players make the trip to Israel, noting he preferred to remain in Barcelona, where the team is holding its pre-World Cup training camp.

“From a sporting point of view, I would have preferred to play in Barcelona,” Sampaoli said.

Argentina opens their Group ‘D’ campaign in Russia against Iceland on June 16. They then play Croatia on June 21 and Nigeria on June 26. It is unclear whether Argentina will play another warm-up, or if they will arrive in Moscow ahead of schedule.

Published in Dawn, June 7th, 2018