THE motion to suspend Israel from Fifa was dropped yesterday, with a committee set up to establish free movement of players and goods along the West Bank and Gaza.

There was talk earlier on in the morning that a deal had been struck between the two nations and that there would be no need for a vote but those rumours were false.

Instead, head of the Palestinian Football Association Jibril Rajoub addressed those in attendance at the Fifa Congress to announce that he was withdrawing the proposal after talking to the majority of Fifa’s 209 members.

Red Card Israeli Racism (RCIR) said that they hoped that Fifa makes sure that the “agreed reforms are acted upon in good faith.”

Speaking to the Star, RCIR said: “The Palestinian FA has won some major concessions over the past two weeks that would have been unthinkable without their motion for suspension.

“They have demonstrated the power of sanctions to extract justice.

“Fifa now has a great deal of work to do, to ensure the agreed reforms are acted upon in good faith.”

At the start of the day, during a Sepp Blatter speech, two female pro-Palestinian protesters brandished red cards towards the 79-year-old, chanted “red card for Fifa” and unveiled a Palestinian flag before being ejected by security.

Hours later, Rajoub took to the stage to explain why the proposal was withdrawn.

“I have decided to drop the suspension,” Rajoub said. “I am here to play football rather than play politics. I don’t want to score goals, I want to end suffering.

“We must not involve politics in football. Any dispute we have inside Fifa must be solved inside Fifa.”

Rajoub then asked for the congress to vote on an amendment to address the restrictions on the movement of Palestinian football players, for Fifa to pass it to the United Nations to decide whether five Israeli settler clubs should be permitted to continue in “occupied territories” and the failure to curb rampant racism amongst Israeli fans.

Blatter ignored the amendment, instead proposing to vote to refer the ongoing conflict to a committee.

The bill passed with 90 per cent of the vote.

The decision was met with applause from the crowd and president of the Israeli Football Association Ofer Eini told delegates that Israel said it was delighted at the move and would work together with the Palestinians in the best interests of world football.

Eini then offered to shake hands with Rajoub, as a sign of peace and solidarity between Israel and Palestine, which was accepted once again to rapturous applause.