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Sources have confirmed to Football Palestine this morning that Palestine will not field a team this week at the Merdeka Cup. The outbreak of violence over the weekend that has left over one thousand people dead threw the fixtures scheduled for this week in Kuala Lumpur into doubt.
Over the weekend there had been a concerted effort to try and get the players out of the country and the plan was to leave on Monday.
The coaching staff were the first to try and make their way to the land crossing but were unable to navigate a route. Much like the events of May 2021, settlers intent on implementing their brand of vigilante violence have descended onto to main roads in the West Bank stopping and searching vehicles with the backing of the Israeli Defense Force.
One player told Football Palestine that he could not find a taxi willing to take him to Jericho in order to cross the border due to the nature of the situation. Another player, from Jerusalem’s Old City, has been unable to leave his house due to the groups of settlers that roam the streets looking for Arabs to beat up.
Palestine was due to play Tajikistan on Friday and then play again next Tuesday against India or hosts Malaysia into doubt. The Merdeka Cup will still go ahead but will be played in a round-robin format.
The cancellation of the friendlies is a blow for Palestine who will miss the chance to prepare thoroughly before starting their World Cup qualification campaign next month. Palestine are due to open their 2026 World Cup qualification campaign away to Lebanon (hosted on neutral territory in the UAE) before traveling back to Palestine to play hosts to Australia.
