Last month the United Arab Emirates refused to give a visa to Israeli tennis star Shahar Peer so that she could play in a tournament in Dubai, and the UAE has now been fined by the women's tennis association for doing so. A leading newspaper in Dubai, the Gulf News, offers some interesting justifications of the decision. Here's one article, quoting Shir Hever, an Israeli economist at the joint Palestinian-Israeli Alternative Information Center:
And here's a second piece in the Gulf News making a similar point:
“We appreciate this move and hope that each country in the world will not host any Israeli sportsman as long as Palestinian sport is under siege,” he said.
He cited the first international Palestinian football match ever to be played on home soil in Al Ram in October last year, where the captain of the Palestinian team was not allowed by Israel to travel from his home in Gaza to the West Bank town.
Rajoub added that Palestinian sportspeople faced many difficulties in travelling between Gaza and the West Bank as well as travelling abroad. Even within the West Bank, he said, it could take a sportsman from Hebron two days to travel to Jenin.
“There is a need for the international community to review its policies towards Israel. No Israeli sportsperson should be hosted if Israel does not agree to free Palestinian sport from suppression and injustice,” said Rajoub.
All this is somewhat hypocritical though, inasmuch as Dubai lets Lev Leviev, who finances colonies on the West Bank, sell his diamonds there.
