AMMAN (Dispatches) – A
Jordanian taekwondo fighter has refused to face an opponent from the Israeli-occupied territories in international competitions in Bulgaria, the latest of such withdrawals from encountering Zionist opponents in international tournaments.
The Palestinian Information Center reported that Maysir al-Dahamsheh, the star player of the Jordanian national taekwondo team, had avoided confrontation with a rival from the Zionist regime in the Cadet and Junior World Championships 2022 hosted by Bulgaria.
The Jordanian taekwondo practitioner failed to bag the bronze medal of the tournament after withdrawing from the competition in protest against the normalization of relations of some Arab countries with the Tel Aviv regime.
In a similar move two months ago, Jordanian national fencing player Eyas al-Zamer withdrew from facing a Zionist opponent in a world championship for juniors held in the Emirati city of Dubai.
In recent years, an increasing number of athletes from Arab and Muslim countries have avoided facing Zionist opponents in international competitions in support of the Palestinian cause.
They view the participation of Zionist athletes in sports events as a scheme to help the regime gradually normalize its relations with Muslim and Arab nations despite its brutal occupation of Palestine and its relentless crimes against Palestinians.
In April, the Libyan national team refused to face Zionist opponents at the World Fencing Championships 2022 in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in solidarity with the Palestinian cause and in opposition to normalization agreements between the occupying regime and a few Arab countries.
Back in January, Kuwait’s tennis player Muhammad al-Awadi also withdrew from an international tennis tournament in the UAE after he was told that he was going to face a representative from the Israeli regime.
Under U.S.-brokered agreements, the Zionist regime managed to normalize its ties with the governments of the UAE, Bahrain, Sudan, and Morocco in 2020.
The normalization deals sparked widespread protests in those countries, laying bare the overwhelming divide between the rulers and the people.