Entering Jerusalem via an Israeli visa has never been a preferred choice for Egyptians but the national Olympic football team revived that possibility to stir unease among many people. The Olympic team were invited by the Palestinian Football Federation to play a friendly game against Palestine on March 30 in East Jerusalem, which has been occupied by Israel since 1967. When the Egyptian FA expressed an initial approval to hold that game, strong words of condemnation arose from sporting, political and religious figures against few supportive statements. Accusations of 'normalizing ties with Israel' were very common although the country has had a peace treaty with Israel since 1979. "I declare my strong disapproval of visiting Jerusalem with an Israeli visa," Ahmed Omar Hashem, head of the People's Assembly religious affairs committee, said. "If our team go there with Israeli visas, it will be a clear endorsement of their occupation of Palestine." Parliament member Ibrahim Abou-Ouf, who belongs to opposition movement the Muslim Brotherhood, released a statement demanding the match be cancelled or staged in Gaza strip, which is controlled by Islamist group Hamas. Pope Shenouda III and late Sheikh Mohamed Sayed Tantawi, the former head of Egypt's most prestigious seat of Islamic learning Al-Azhar, have on many times objected to the idea of visiting Jerusalem as long as Israel controls it. Renowned TV presenter Amr Adib opened the matter for discussion during the famous Al-Qahera Al-Youm talk show, with the majority of phoners expressing resolute opposition to the idea. Political pundit Hamdi Kandil and acclaimed Egyptian writer Alaa Al-Aswani also echoed their sentiment, giving the Egyptian FA officials a real headache that seems to have forced them to rethink their initial approval. Pressure paid off? "The Olympic team's visit to Palestine postponed," read the headline of Egypt's state-owned Al-Ahram newspaper on Saturday. EFA chairman Samir Zaher, speaking to the TV channel of Ahli club, declined to disclose the reasons for the decision. "We were hoping to show our solidarity with the Palestinian people but the current circumstances will not allow us to play that game this month," he said without further elaboration.
Abou-Treika praised "However, it will be played at a later date." Reports said the Egyptian foreign ministry put off plans to give the Olympic team the green light to participate in the game 'for security reasons'. The team's Muslim players were already planning to pray at Al-Aqsa mosque while coach Hany Ramzy, who is a Christian, was going to visit the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, according to widespread reports. "We are an Arab team which were going to meet another Arab team on an Arab land," former Egypt defender Ramzy, who was appointed as the Olympic team's boss in December last year, said. "We are totally against normalizing relations with Israel, we just wanted to support Palestine and its people." Football Rules Football has long been considered an effective way to unite people, resolve differences and support allies in a football-mad country like Egypt. Egypt and Ahli player Mohamed Abou-Treika was praised by Egyptian and Palestine people alike when he helped bridge the gap between the two countries during the 2008 African Cup of Nations. At that time, many Palestinians breached the Gaza-Egypt border after Israel imposed a total blockade on Gaza as they sought to alleviate their humanitarian crisis. The breach raised some concerns among Egyptians but Abou-Treika appeared to have soothed any tensions when Egypt were facing Sudan in the Nations Cup group stage. The classy playmaker lifted his shirt to reveal a vest with 'sympathize with Gaza' written across it when he scored his side's second goal in a 3-0 victory. Egypt's Olympic team had a chance to play a similar role after Egypt and Hamas traded accusations during the past few months. The Egyptian authorities were infuriated after a board guard was reportedly killed by a Palestinian militant while Hammas hit out at them for closing the Rafah crossing. "If we refuse to travel to Palestine, this means that we are punishing the Palestinians themselves," writer and author Iqbal Baraka commented. "They are our families, we should deal with them and visit them normally."
