State of Palestine: West Bank team in Gaza for first time in 15 years for historic match

The players of West Bank based Ahli al-Khalil football club arrived at the Mashtal Hotel in Gaza, Tuesday, after Israeli authorities granted the team entry into Gaza for the first time in 15 years. Part of the Palestine Cup, the first leg between Ahli al-Khalil and Gaza's Shejaia takes place on Thursday with the return leg scheduled for Saturday. The winner of the competition will play in the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Cup. The players were scheduled to enter Gaza on Monday but club officials released a statement accusing Israeli authorities of blocking their entrance to the exclave. The incident follows events at the FIFA Congress in May, when Palestinian Football Association chief Jibril Rajoub dropped a motion at the last minute calling for the suspension of the Israeli national team from FIFA.