SNTV Features

Brazilian football star Ronaldo received a hero's welcome in the Palestinian city of Ramallah, with hundreds of well wishers jostling to get a glimpse of the Real Madrid footballer during a visit on Monday. (16th May 2005)

Ronaldo, a goodwill ambassador for the United Nations Development Program was on a one day visit to the region which also included a trip to Israel.

He was there to participate in a UNDP project that brings young Israeli and Palestinian football players together.

SUGGESTED VOICE OVER:

Hundreds of Palestinians gathered in the West Bank city of Ramallah on Monday (16th May 2005) to greet Ronaldo, the Brazilian football star.

Visiting in his capacity as a Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the Real Madrid player wanted to take a first-hand look at UNDP youth and anti-poverty projects .

Fans - including a busload of Brazilian-born Palestinians wearing the country's yellow-and-green jersey - chanted "Ronaldo, Ronaldo" and pushed the player's bodyguards in an attempt to touch their hero.

Surrounded by a tight ring of bodyguards to get through the chanting crowds, Ronaldo first visited the office of Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qureia where he signed footballs.

The beaming Qureia escorted Ronaldo out of the building before he continued on to a local school, where the superstar received yet another boisterous welcome.

SOUNDBITE: (Portuguese)

"I only wanted to say how happy I am to be making this visit and how proud I am to see everybody so happy around me. I hope you'll enjoy my presence very much. I thank you for this marvellous reception and I hope to return many more times, always on a mission of peace."

SUPERCAPTION: Ronaldo

During his visit to Ramallah, Ronaldo inaugurated a new Centre for Disadvantaged Youth and visited several anti-poverty UNDP projects.

They include the UNDP's "Football Workshops", which have been designed to promote sport as a forum to teach leadership, confidence, and discipline, based on the principles of tolerance, cooperation, and respect.

Later on, Ronaldo visited Israel as a special guest of the Peres Centre for peace.

Ronaldo and Israeli Vice Premier Shimon Peres met at the "Twinned Peace Football Schools", which are a part of a Palestinian-Israeli project to bring children closer together through sport.

SOUNDBITE: (Portuguese)

"It's a real pleasure to be here and it's a real pleasure for me to see how many people are happy about my presence. I know that football can bring people together and try and bring about peace and put an end to their problems"

SUPERCAPTION: Ronaldo

Ronaldo was there to meet some 800 young Palestinian and Israeli participants of the project who will play in mixed teams in a tournament held in his honour.

SHOTLIST: Ramallah - Palestine - 16th May 2005

Betuniya checkpoint, near Ramallah, West Bank

1. 00:00 - UN trucks accompany Ronaldo through checkpoint

2. 00:20 - Ronaldo stepping out of car, crowds cheering and chanting his name

Ramallah, West Bank

3. 00:45 - Ronaldo arriving, surrounded by fans and crowds

4. 00:49 - Ronaldo makes his way through the door

5. 01:05 - Meeting Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qureia

6. 01:12 - Ronaldo signing ball with a placard in yellow with his number "9" on it

7. 01:15 - Prime Minister Ahmed Qureia

8. 01:24 - Ronaldo waves as he leaves

9. 01:35 - Supporters in Brazil shirts cheering in car as they drive past

10. 01:42 - Inside sports centre at Al-Hashimiya school

11. 01:47 - Child holding up Brazil football shirt

12. 01:53 - Ronaldo arrives, and waves

13. 01:58 - Crowd of young fans cheering him as he walks in

14. 02:08 - SOUNDBITE: Ronaldo (Portuguese)

15. 02:43 - Ronaldo leaves surrounded by crowds pushing and shoving to get closer to him

16. 02:51 - Ronaldo, at a new centre named in his honour, posing for photo wearing a Keffiyeh (traditional Palestinian headscarf) with someone holding Palestinian flag behind him

17. 03:00 - His car leaves, surrounded by supporters

Herzliya, Central Israel 16/06

18. 03:15 - Wideshot of fans waiting for Ronaldo

19. 03:20 - Close up of Israeli Vice Premier Shimon Peres arriving

20. 03:25 - Ronaldo and Shimon Peres walking together

21. 03:36 - Crowds around Ronaldo

22. 03:40 - Shimon Peres

23. 04:46 - Ronaldo and kids in group photo

24. 04:10 - Shimon Peres and Ronaldo together

25. 04:23 - SOUNDBITE: Ronaldo (portuguese)

26. 05:02 - Ronaldo walking among the crowds of fans

Palestinian Football Federation threatens to urge next month's FIFA Congress in Brazil to take sanctions against Israel in protest against alleged recent attacks by soldiers on Palestinian sportsmen in the occupied territories.

SCRIPTING INFORMATION:

Jibril Rajoub, president of the Palestinian Football Federation (PFF), threatened to call for sanctions against Israel in protest against alleged recent attacks by Israeli soldiers against Palestinian sportsmen.

Rajoub, who is also head of the Palestine Olympic Committee, referred to the recent arrest of a Palestine footballer and the shooting of two other players who were reportedly shot in the legs by Israel soldiers.

Jawhar Nasser Jawhar, 19, and Adam Abd al-Raouf Halabiya, 17, were allegedly shot at al-Zaayyem checkpoint near Abu Dis in Jerusalem as they walked home from their sports club.

Doctors have since confirmed the pair is unlikely to be able to play sports again due to the severity of their injuries.

On returning from Jordan where they received treatment they were arrested.

Last month a player of Palestine national soccer team, Sameh Moraebe, 22, was arrested by Israeli military forces en route to Qatar.

Coach Jamal Mahmoud has denounced the arrest of the players.

PFF is threatening to take its grievances to the FIFA Congress in Sao Paulo on June 10th-11th that will be held just before the start of the World Cup in Brazil.

The Palestinians have long accused Israel of restricting sport people's mobility inside the West Bank and between the West Bank and Gaza, preventing players from participating in international tournaments and banning the entry of sports equipment that Palestinian teams and stadiums need.

Israel justifies these measures on security grounds.

Rajoub had previously raised the issue of travel for Palestinian athletes at the FIFA congress in Mauritius in June last year. There, he said that, should the matter not be resolved, he would call on delegates to expel Israel at the next congress

The 150th-ranked Palestine football team's next important international match, when it needs players to travel freely, is at the 2014 AFC Challenge Cup, to be held in the Maldives over May 19-30.

The winner of the eight-nation tournament advances to the 2015 Asian Cup in Australia.

West Bank, Palestine. 13 May, 2014.

1. 00:00 Various of the Palestinian FA head quarter

2. 00:12 SOUNDBITE: (Arabic) Jibril Rajoub, President Of Palestinian Football Federation (PFF):

" Without a doubt its a provocative act. the shooting and arrest of the players after coming back from a treatment defies the whole world. Israel will pay the price next month's at the FIFA congress".

3. 00:27 Mid of Adam Halabiya in hospital

4. 00:31 Close-up of heart rate monitor

5. 00:35 Close-up of Adam Halabiya

6. 00:39 Close-up of Adam Halabiya hand

7. 00:43 Mid of Jawhar Halabiya

8. 00:47 Close-up of Jawhar Halabiya

9. 00:51 Close-up of Jawhar Halabiya hands

10. 00:55 Mid of Adam Halabiya in hospital

11. 00:59 Close-up of Nasser Jawhar Halabiya

12. 01:03 Mid of Jerusalem

13. 01:07 SOUNDBITE: (Arabic) Nasser Jawhar Halabiya, Father of Jawhar Halabiya

" Their return was a setback for us, their arrest is setback for us and the country. Everyone were waiting for them to come back safe".

14. 01:18 Various of the palestinian team training

15. 01:30 Close- up of Palestinian coach Jamal Mahmoud talking to the players

16. 01:33 SOUNDBITE: (Arabic) Jamal Mahmoud, Palestine Coach

" I hope they were with us, because that would be an extra for us, but the occupation always put obstacles for the Palestinian sport".

17. 01:46 Various of the palestinian team training

18. 01:57 Various GV of the West Bank

World Cup trophy put on display in Ramallah.

SCRIPTING INFORMATION:

The FIFA World Cup arrived on Sunday (10th November) to the West Bank city of Ramallah.

The golden trophy is going on a tour around the world and is scheduled to visit 90 countries during its 267-day duration.

The cup has already been on display in the Caribbean before reaching the Middle East for the first time.

Ramallah, Palestine - 10th November 2013

1. 00:00 Wide shot of Palestinian Football Association president Jibril Rajoub and other officials uncovering the World Cup

2. 00:10 Mid shot of same

3. 00:16 Various of trophy

4. 00:25 SOUNDBITE (English) Palestinian Football Association president Jibril Rajoub:

"It is an eminence honour and joy for the Palestinian people and for the Palestinian football family to have the World Cup here in Palestine. I think it is a clear cut message to the international community by FIFA that Palestinian sport entity is existing and deserve support and protection from the Israeli occupation."

5. 00:53 Rajoub with officials taking picture near cup

SHOTLIST:

Ramallah, West Bank, Gaza. July 7, 2013.

1. 00:00 Various Palestine Football Association's building

2. 00:14 Mid shot of FIFA President Sepp Blatter during photo-opportunity with Prince Ali Bin Al-Hussein of Jordan (to Blatter's right) and Palestine Football Association's President, Jibril Rajoub (to Blatter's left)

3. 00:21 Wide of news conference

4. 00:23 SOUNDBITE: (English) Sepp Blatter, FIFA President

"I am a citizen of the world, but my heart now beats for Palestine."

5. 00:32 Close up of FIFA and Palestinian flag

6. 00:37 Wide of FIFA President Sepp Blatter exiting Palestine Football Association's building and greeting Prince Ali Bin Al-Hussein of Jordan

7. 00:45 Mid shot of Arab Idol winner, Mohammed Assaf, climbing stairs and being greeted by fans

8. 00:50 Wide of FIFA President Sepp Blatter at photo-opportunity with Palestine Football Association's President, Jibril Rajoub, and Arab Idol winner, Mohammed Assaf

STORYLINE: FIFA president Sepp Blatter continues tour of Palestine on Sunday (July 7).

SCRIPTING INFORMATION:

FIFA President Sepp Blatter said that his heart "beats for Palestine" while speaking at a press conference in the West Bank city of Ramallah on Sunday.

Blatter was on a tour of the West Bank and promised to help the Palestinian national football team.

Prince Ali Bin Al-Hussein of Jordan and Palestine Football Association's President, Jibril Rajoub, joined Blatter at the press conference, along with the winner of the "Arab Idol" reality show, Palestinian singer Mohammed Assaf.

Members of the Palestinian squad are split between the West Bank and Gaza and are often unable to move from one territory to the other due to Israeli security restrictions.

At the FIFA Congress held in Mauritius in May, football's governing body called on Blatter to try to improve the situation of football in Palestine.

On Sunday, Blatter urged Israel to remove the travel restrictions and give greater respect to Palestinian athletes, saying that the current situation violates FIFA's charter.

"I'm on a mission...to transmit to the political authorities in Israel the problems that you are facing here," Blatter told an audience at Al-Najah University in the West Bank city of Nablus.

The crowd included Palestinian Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah, who praised Blatter for his contributions to global and Palestinian sports.

Blatter also received an honorary Ph.D. in administration from the university.

Blatter said that he would invite Assaf to sing at the World Cup in Brazil next year.

Blatter began his visit in the northern West Bank city of Tulkarem, where he inaugurated a new football pitch sponsored by FIFA.

SHOTLIST:

Tulkarem, northern West Bank - 7th July 2013

1. 00:00 Wide shot of helicopter carrying FIFA President Sepp Blatter landing

2. 00:08 Mid of Blatter welcomed by Palestinian officials

3. 00:14 Wide shot of band playing music welcoming Blatter

4. 00:19 Mid of Blatter cutting ribbon

5. 00:27 Close up of sign

6. 00:31 Wide shot of Blatter with Palestinian youth soccer players pausing for picture

7. 00:36 Wide shot of Palestinian youth players practising

8. 00:41 Mid of youths practising

9. 00:46 Mid of Blatter shaking hands with Palestinian officials

10. 00;52 Blatter standing during Palestinian anthem

11. 00:57 SOUNDBITE (English) Sepp Blatter, FIFA President:

"Football shall give hope, hope for you, hope especially for this country, for this city, for this population, for Palestine, lot of hope for Palestine."

12. 01:10 Mid of children in traditional costumes holding flowers

13. 01:13 SOUNDBITE (English) Sepp Blatter, FIFA President:

"I am an optimist, and I'm looking forward to a very proud and bright future of your country, of the Palestinian population, and especially we can help through football and through sports."

13. 01:31 Wide shot of crowd clapping

14. 01:36 Mid of Blatter holding flowers with children dressed in traditional costume

Nablus, northern West Bank - 7th July 2013

15. 01:41 Crowd applauding as Blatter enters hall

16. 01:49 Mid of Blatter seated with Palestinian prime minister Rami Al-Hamdallah

17. 01:54 Various of Blatter getting an honorary PHD

18. 02:00 SOUNDBITE (English) Sepp Blatter, FIFA President:

"I'm in a mission, I'm in a sports diplomatic mission to transmit to the political authorities in Israel the problems that you are facing here with the football, with the controls they are making in your football organisations."

19. 02:21 Mid of Blatter handing FIFA flags to Palestinian officials

20. 02:32 End shot of Blatter leaving

STORYLINE:

During his tour of the West Bank on Sunday (7th July), FIFA President Sepp Blatter promised to help the Palestinian national team.

SCRIPTING INFORMATION:

Members of Palestine's football squad are split between the West Bank and Gaza, often unable to move from one territory to the other due to Israeli security restrictions.

At the FIFA Congress held in Mauritius in May, football's governing body called on President Sepp Blatter to "try to improve the situation of football in Palestine".

On Sunday, Blatter urged Israel to remove the travel restrictions and give greater respect to Palestinian athletes, saying that the current situation violates FIFA's charter.

"I'm on a mission... to transmit to the political authorities in Israel the problems that you are facing here," Blatter told an audience at Al-Najah University in the West Bank city of Nablus.

The crowd included Palestinian Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah, who praised Blatter for his contributions to global and Palestinian sports.

Blatter received an honorary Ph.D. in administration from the university.

"I'm a global citizen but my heart beats for Palestine," said Blatter, adding he would invite Mohammed Assaf, the Palestinian singer who won the "Arab Idol" reality show, to sing at the World Cup in Brazil next year.

Blatter began his latest visit in the northern West Bank city of Tulkarem, where he inaugurated a new $500,000 football pitch sponsored by FIFA. He was greeted by folk dancing and flowers carried by young girls in traditional Palestinian costumes.

While Blatter sounded positive notes, telling the crowd that soccer "shall give hope, hope for you, hope for Palestine," the president of the Palestine Football Association was more critical.

"(Blatter) is here to dissolve the Israeli occupation's siege on Palestinian sport," Jibril Rajoub said. Later, during a speech at An-Najah University, he claimed "there should be no place (in FIFA and the Olympics) for those who continue their racist policy."

Rajoub said Blatter will meet Israeli officials this week and convey the FIFA Congress' call for Israel to ease restrictions on Palestinian players. The Israeli Football Association said it wouldn't comment until it had met Blatter.

Blatter is scheduled to visit several more FIFA-sponsored projects in the West Bank later on Sunday.

SHOTLIST

Ram - 26 October, 2008

1. Wide exterior of Faisal Husseini International Stadium

2. Mid of men sweeping

3. Mid of excavator at stadium

4. Various of man painting stadium wall

5. Pan of stadium

6. Palestinian flag (middle) and flags depicting Jordan King Abdullah bin al-Hussein and late Palestinian Leader Yasser Arafat and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas

7. Close up of flag depicting Jordan King Abdullah bin al-Hussein

8. Various of men placing advertisement banner in stadium

9. Various of pitch and seating stands in stadium

10. Mid of Palestinian flags at stadium

Ram - 20 October, 2008

11. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Ahmed Alan, Palestinian team player:

"It's a very good feeling to play this match on our home land and between our people and it means a lot that this match will be in Jerusalem."

12. Wide pan of stadium

Ramallah - 24 October, 2008

++NIGHT SHOTS++

13. Various of Jordanian team arriving in Ramallah

14. Jordanian football team being welcomed by music performers

15. Jordanian football team watching music performance

16. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Mahmoud Khalifa, Jordan team manager:

"We are very happy to be here in Palestine, it's a pleasure for the Jordanian national team to play this match with our brothers, the Palestinian national team. The match will be a friendly match. This is one of the most important games for us. We have suffered in the last two days to come here but in the end we arrived. We hope this match will show the high level of both football teams."

17. Mid of Mahmoud Khalifa sitting down talking

18. Mid of music performance

STORYLINE

The Palestinian national football team has been preparing to play its first international match on home soil, at the Faisal Husseini International Stadium in the West Bank town of Ram, just outside Jerusalem.

Palestine will host Jordan in an exhibition match at the stadium, after ten years of playing "home" games in Jordan and Qatar.

The stadium has now been upgraded to meet the standards set by football's governing body, FIFA (the International Federation of Football Association).

FIFA President Sepp Blatter will attend Sunday's match against Jordan in the 6-thousand seat stadium, which has been renovated at a cost of 4 million US dollars.

Blatter is attending the game as part of a four-day visit to Jordan, Israel and the Palestinian territories.

Palestine is rated 180th of 207 nations in the FIFA rankings, peaking at Number 115 in April 2006, while Jordan is ranked 112.

Travel for away games has been complicated for the Palestinian team, who failed to arrive for a recent World Cup qualifier in Singapore because of travel restrictions imposed by Israel.

Eighteen players and officials living in the Gaza Strip were denied travel permits.

This time too, several team members were still stuck in Gaza and are waiting for Israeli permits to come to the West Bank.

Israel has declared Gaza "hostile territory" and allows only humanitarian hardship cases to leave.

Hosting an international match is a point of pride for many Palestinians, as Palestine's decade-old team has previously been obliged to stage games it should have held at home in Jordan and Qatar instead.

Sport is the only field in which a Palestinian state is officially recognised, and so holds an important place in the hearts of Palestinians, whether resident in the Palestinian territories or members of the Palestinian diaspora, from which several players are drawn, from as far afield as Chile.

Jibril Rajoub, head of the Palestinian Football Association, called it "a very important moment for the Palestinian people and for the Palestinian football family."

The Palestinian team also boasts players from the West Bank, Jerusalem, and Gaza.

Players from the Gaza Strip were having difficulties getting to the West Bank - six of the team's 26 members, including its captain Saeb Jundiyeh, were still in Gaza, awaiting word from Israel on whether they would be permitted to travel to the West Bank.

Israeli officials had no immediate comment on the travel request.

Gaza has been virtually cut off from the world since the Islamic militant Hamas seized control of the territory in June 2007.

Hamas and the Fatah movement of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, who runs the West Bank, are bitter rivals. Gaza and the West Bank lie on opposite sides of Israel.

FIFA president Sepp Blatter met with Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas on Monday (26th May), as part of his regional tour to Jordan, Palestine and Israel.

SCRIPTING INFORMATION:

FIFA president Sepp Blatter described himself as "a self-declared ambassador of the Palentinian people" after meeting Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah on Monday (26th May).

President Abbas had earlier criticised Israeli interference in the affairs of the Palestinian Football Association and called for action.

"We consider ourselves as an active FIFA member, the Israeli government continues placing obstacles for our activities and to be honest with you these Israeli obstacles violate international law and the FIFA legislations. And the Israeli (football) Federation if it continues obeying the Israeli government orders and practices, it must be held accountable" Abbas said.

On Tuesday (27th May) Sepp Blatter will have a meeting with the Israel Football Association (IFA) and Israeli president Benjamin Netanyahu, and the FIFA President expects those meetings to be trickier, but he's determined to improve relations between the two countries through football.

"It's easy to deal with you Mr Abbas and your government and your sports authorities Mr Rajoub (General Jibril Rajoub), it's really easy to deal. It will not be so easy to deal on the other side, but I am an optimist and being an optimist we shall try and we shall find a solution, a solution that sport is not politics, but sport, in this case football, can help to solve a problem. And if we are able to solve this problem it could be also a good, let's say, step to solve other problems that you have in this region."

Ramallah, Palestine - 26th May 2014.

1. 00:00 Mid shot of FIFA Vice President Prince Ali Bin Hussein and FIFA president Sepp Blatter.

2. 00;07 Mid shot of delegates.

3. 00:11 Wide shot of FIFA Vice President Prince Ali Bin Hussein, FIFA president Sepp Blatter and Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas.

4. 00:19 SOUNDBITE: (Arabic) Mahmoud Abbas, Palestinian president:

"Nonetheless, we consider ourselves as an active FIFA member, the Israeli government continues placing obstacles for our activities and to be honest with you these Israeli obstacles violate international law and the FIFA legislations. And the Israeli (football) Federation if it continues obeying the Israeli government orders and practices, it must be held accountable."

5. 01:16 Wide shot of press conference.

6. 01:22 Close up of Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas listening to Sepp Blatter.

7. 01:29 SOUNDBITE: (English) Sepp Blatter, FIFA president.

"I am happy to be with you in this moment with the vice-president of FIFA for Asia Prince Ali Bin Hussein and the other delegates here present in order to try, not only to try, but I think to enable us to solve a problem, an ongoing problem, which is between your nation, your people, your country, together with your neighbours Israel."

8. 02:11 Cutaway of delegates.

9. 02:16 SOUNDBITE: (English) Sepp Blatter, FIFA president:

"President Abbas be ensured that I am not only a friend of Palestine, I am, as you have written to me once, I am a self-declared ambassador of the Palentinian people."

10. 02:38 Cutaway of delegates.

11. 02:42 SOUNDBITE: (English) Sepp Blatter, FIFA president:

"It's easy to deal with you Mr Abbas and your government and your sports authorities Mr Rajoub (General Jibril Rajoub), it's really easy to deal. It will not be so easy to deal on the other side, but I am an optimist and being an optimist we shall try and we shall find a solution, a solution that sport is not politics, but sport, in this case football, can help to solve a problem. And if we are able to solve this problem it could be also a good, let's say, step to solve other problems that you have in this region."

12. 03:31 End of press conference, Sepp Blatter and Mahmoud Abbas embrace and Blatter gives a pennant to Abbas.

SNTV looks at beach football in the Middle East which is gaining popularity in the the Gaza Strip.

SCRIPTING INFORMATION:

The beating sun that heats up the beach-side of the Gaza Strip and poor facilities are not enough deterrents for the determined beach soccer players of the troubled region.

Though a relatively new sport, beach football is gaining popularity, especially after the success of the national team in a regional competition.

Despite the poor make-shift training ground, and their underdog status, they reached the semi-finals of 2012 Asian Beach Games in Haiyang, China, only losing to Iran who went on to win the tournament.

Mohammed Dahman said that success had attracted a new generation of promising players to the sport.

He hoped the authorities and FIFA will invest more in the development of the sport.

After the success in China - and the improvement of the ranking to the 6sixth in Asia - a national league competition is being developed and a new proper ground is now under construction.

Coach Emad Hashim was optimistic these steps will pave the way for more success and attract even more players to the sport.

Gaza, Gaza Strip. 19 August 2013.

1. 00:00 Various of warm up and training session

2. 00:31 SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Mohammed Dahman, Palestinian player:

"This sport is now popular because (the national team of) Palestine excelled in it. There is a promising new generation of players. We hope that the Palestinian Football Association and FIFA's beach football division will provide the team with the necessary facilities, so that it becomes stronger and capable of competing with other teams."

3. 00:58 Various of training session

4. 01:16 SOUNDBITE: (Arabic) Mohammed Dahman, Palestinian player:

"There are some difficulties in playing beach football, but they are not major ones. The only difficulty (in comparison with usual football) relates to the nature of the pitch. Otherwise, the skills and techniques are similar to those of usual football. Thanks be to God, we have been able to shoulder the responsibility and make some advances in this sport for Palestine."

5. 01:41 Various of training session

6. 02:08 SOUNDBITE: (Arabic) Emad Hashim, Coach:

"After winning the bronze medal in Asia, having come third, and the improvement of our ranking to sixth in Asia, we've started developing various projects. These include organising a league competition in the Gaza Strip and Palestine which will enable us to select the national team. Also among our projects is the development of a proper specialist beach football ground, this ground we are using now, which is under construction."

7. 02:40 Various of the training session

SHOTLIST:

Bethlehem, Palestine - 3rd August 2013

1. 00:00 Mid shot of Gerardo Martino

2. 00:07 Wide of players walking

3. 00:22 Dani Alves walking up to microphone

4. 00:24 Wide of players and Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas

5. 00:37 Close up of Lionel Messi

6. 01:05 Abbas and Barcelona president Sandro Rosell shaking hands

7. 01:14 Wide of players posing for photograph

8. 01:27 Various of players onto team bus

9. 01:50 Bus departs

STORYLINE:

Barcelona paid a visit to Bethlehem and met with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas as part of their two day visit in Israel and the Palestinian Authority.

SCRIPTING INFORMATION:

Barcelona - along with new head coach Gerardo Martino - have arrived in Israel and Palestine for a two day visit.

After touching down at Israel's Ben Gurion airport, the Spanish champions headed to the West Bank.

They arrived at the church of nativity in Bethlehem for a visit and tour. Following the visit to the church they met with Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas at his office in Bethlehem.

The Team will continue to Hebron in the West Bank where they are expected to participate in a celebration honouring their arrival and meet with Palestinian children.

STORYLINE

UEFA President Michel Platini visited Ramallah in the West Bank on Wednesday (7th October 2009) and pledged his support to help football develop in the Palestinian territories.

The Frenchman visited Yasser Arafat's grave and met with Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad during his visit in a trip aimed at promoting football as a way of bringing peace to the region.

SUGGESTED VOICEOVER:

UEFA President Michel Platini visited the Palestinian national side on Wednesday as the Frenchman toured Ramallah in the West Bank in a trip aimed at promoting football as a way of bringing peace to the region.

The Palestinian team are one of the newest members of the FIFA family, and played their first home match as recently as 2008 against Jordan.

The side play in a recently renovated stadium, and the match against Jordan drew over 7000 spectators.

The team is seen as a symbol of hope in the region, and Platini was there to show his support for the team.

He then visited the grave of former Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat to pay his respects, before heading to a meeting with Palestinian officials and Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad.

Platini received a medal from the committee of religions in honour of his help in developing football in the region, and the former world player of the year explained he saw football as a means to bring about peace.

SOUNDBITE: (English)

"I used this opportunity to be in Jerusalem to come see my friend in Palestine and to go to Jordan this afternoon to see Prince Ali and to speak about friendship, about football, and the development of football and what we can do in the football, not always in money or in infrastructure but in values, and what we can do for peace, what we can do for the youth and what we can do for the young football players that are here in Palestine and they would like to play football."

SUPER CAPTION: Michel Platini, UEFA President

Platini has been touring the region in recent days. On Tuesday he was in neighbouring Israel and met with Israeli president Shimon Peres and he is scheduled to meet Jordanian leader

Prince Ali bin al Hussein later on Wednesday.

SHOTLIST:

Ramallah, West Bank, 7 October 2009

1. 00.00 Medium shot Platini shaking hands with Palestinian national football team

2. 00.09 Pan Left showing Platini meeting Palestinian national football team staff

3. 00.13 Pan left showing Platini kicking ball Palestinian national football team

4. 00.22 Zoom out showing Platini with Palestinian national football team

5. 00.30 Exterior of Arafat's grave

6. 00.33 Tilt up Platini visiting Arafat's grave

7. 00.49 Tilt down showing exterior Prime Minister office in Ramallah

8. 00.56 Various of Michel Platini meeting with Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad and receiving medal

9. 01.15 SOUNDBITE: (English) Michel Platini, UEFA President

10. 01.55 Exterior Prime Minister office in Ramallah

SOURCE: SNTV

SHOTLIST

AP Television

Gaza City - 23 August, 2007

1. Wide of players in soccer stadium

2. Various of Palestinian teenagers from the Palestinian under-19 team training

3. SOUNDBITE: (Arabic) Muhammad Swairki, one of the players:

"We were surprised. After training for two months under the conditions of siege and in these difficult circumstances, we were looking forward to go out to play in England, to see the British people and to play on pitches we only see in television. But we were disappointed from the message coming from the British embassy (meaning consulate) in Jerusalem that it refuses to let the team go, for reasons I cannot understand."

4. Various of players training

5. SOUNDBITE: (Arabic) Coach of Palestinian under-19 soccer team Abdul Hai Qassem:

"We think that soccer is an international language of understanding, a language that exists in every place of the world. We hoped that our boys would meet the British people and we would change their (the players) opinion about the outside world."

6. Players training in stadium

AP Television News

FILE Jerusalem - 4 July, 2007

7. Mid of British flag on pole

8. Mid of sign at entrance to consulate

9. Car driving through gate of consulate

STORYLINE

The British consulate in Jerusalem has refused to issue visitor visas to a team of under-19 soccer players from Gaza who have been invited to play two games in England.

The consulate denied the requests of all players and their accompanies such as the coach and other adults that were supposed to travel with them.

The British consulate would only say in response that none of the 25 applications submitted met the criteria for visa according to the immigration laws of the UK.

The tour, which included games with Chester City and Blackburn Rovers' youth teams, was organised by Chester and Palestine Exchanges (Cape) and the University of Chester with the support of the Palestine and English Football Associations.

The players had been training for two months for the event and were disappointed to find out they won't be able to participate in the games eventually.

"We were looking forward to go out to play in England, to see the British people and to play on pitches we only see in television," said one of the players Muhammad Swairki.

"But we were disappointed from the message coming from the British embassy (meaning consulate) in Jerusalem that it refuses to let the team go, from reasons I can not understand", he added.

The team's coach, Abdul Hai Qassem, complained that their requests were rejected because officials apparently believe they will not return to Gaza strip due to the poor situation there.

Qassem claims this fear is unjustified because Palestinians love their country don't want to be elsewhere.

He also expressed his disappointment at the refusal.

"We think that soccer is an international language of understanding, a language that exists in every place of the world. We hoped that our boys would meet the British people and we would change their (the players) opinion about the outside world," he said.

The consulate said it regretted being unable to support a worthy cause and declined to be interviewed on the issue.

STORYLINE

Dozens of Islamic militants fired rifles in the air on Tuesday in a rousing homecoming for a member of the Palestinian national football team who was released after being held for three years in an Israeli prison without formal charges.

The player, Mahmoud Sarsak, 25, had staged a hunger strike for more than 90 days to press for his release, winning support from international sports organisations.

Israel accused Sarsak of being active in the violent Islamic Jihad group, a charge he denied while in custody.

However, senior Islamic Jihad officials were present during a welcoming ceremony for him in Gaza City on Tuesday, and one of the group's leaders, Nafez Azzam, praised the soccer player as "one of our noble members."

As Sarsak approached his family home in the Rafah refugee camp later on Tuesday, he was surrounded by supporters, including dozens of Islamic Jihad gunmen.

He was carried on the shoulders of the crowd and kissed and hugged by friends and family.

Many gunmen fired in the air in celebration.

"By going on hunger strike, we stood side by side in the Israeli jails and that message was sent to our leaders and to all the world," Sarsak told reporters in his family home.

He called on the Palestinian leadership to take action to resolve the issue of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails.

During the hunger strike, Sarsak had lost nearly half his normal weight. He was released earlier on Tuesday from an Israeli prison hospital, said a Prison Authority spokeswoman.

Sarsak was arrested in July 2009 at a crossing between his native Gaza and Israel on his way to the West Bank for a soccer match.

Israel's Shin Bet security service alleged that Sarsak once planted a bomb that injured an Israeli soldier but said it did not have sufficient evidence for a trial. As a result, Sarsak was held without charges.

In March, he launched a hunger strike to press for his release. He ended the fast in mid-June after winning assurances that he would be freed.

Hundreds of Palestinians imprisoned by Israel have staged hunger strikes this year, but no one generated as much international support as Sarsak.

As Sarsak's condition deteriorated, FIFA's president asked Israel's football federation to urgently intercede on the player's behalf with the Israeli authorities.

FIFPro, an international organisation of professional players, called for his release.

Former Manchester United great Eric Cantona, British filmmaker Ken Loach and others signed a petition calling for freedom for the player.

1. Various of members of Islamic Jihad militant group carrying freed Palestinian prisoner Mahmoud Sarsak on their shoulders and shooting in the air

2. Sarsak being embraced by cheering crowd inside tent

3. Women ululating, one playing drum

4. Men clapping and chanting with women

5. Close up of woman shouting and ululating

6. Mid of Sarsak being carried on men's shoulders, shooting in air

7. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Mahmoud Sarsak, freed Palestinian prisoner:

"By going on hunger strike, we stood side by side in the Israeli jails and that message was sent to our leaders and to all the world. The entire world understood our cause and stood beside us. My third message is to the Palestinian leadership, you have to take care of the prisoners issue."

8. Islamic Jihad militants standing with automatic rifles

9. Mid of picture of Sarsak on poster

10. Wide tent where event celebrating Sarsak's release is taking place

SHOTLIST

Betuniya checkpoint, near Ramallah, West Bank

1. UN trucks accompany Ronaldo through checkpoint

2. Ronaldo stepping out of car, crowds cheering and chanting his name

Ramallah, West Bank

3. Ronaldo arriving, surrounded by fans and crowds

4. He makes his way through the door

5. Meeting Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qureia

6. Ronaldo signing ball with a placard in yellow with his number "9" on it

7. Qureia

8. Ronaldo waves as he leaves

9. Supporters in Brazil shirts cheering in car as they drive past

10. Inside sports centre at Al-Hashimiya school

11. Child holding up Brazil football shirt

12. Ronaldo arrives, and waves

13. Crowd of young fans cheering him as he walks in

14. UPSOUND (Portuguese) (audio as incoming) Ronaldo

"I only wanted to say how happy I am to be making this visit and how proud I am to see everybody so happy around me. I hope you'll enjoy my presence very much. I thank you for this marvellous reception and I hope to return many more times, always on a mission of peace."

15. He leaves surrounded by crowds pushing and shoving to get closer to him

16. Ronaldo, at a new centre named in his honour, posing for photo wearing a Keffiyeh (traditional Palestinian headscarf) with someone holding Palestinian flag behind him

17. His car leaves, surrounded by supporters

STORYLINE

Hundreds of Palestinians gathered in the West Bank city of Ramallah on Monday to greet Ronaldo, the Brazilian football star.

Visiting in his capacity as a Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the Real Madrid player wanted to take a first-hand look at UNDP youth and anti-poverty projects .

Fans - including a busload of Brazilian-born Palestinians wearing the country's yellow-and-green jersey - chanted "Ronaldo, Ronaldo" and pushed the player's bodyguards in an attempt to touch their hero.

Surrounded by a tight ring of bodyguards to get through the chanting crowds, Ronaldo first visited the office of Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qureia where he signed footballs.

The stopover by the Real Madrid striker, who was also visiting Israel during a one-day visit to the region, brought a welcome escape for a town more used to strife than hosting superstars.

Elite security forces normally assigned to Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas, who was out of the country, accompanied Ronaldo at every stop, pushing back the throngs of fans.

Then he went to a local school where hundreds of children cheered their hero.

During his visit to Ramallah, Ronaldo will inaugurate a new Centre for Disadvantaged Youth and will visit several anti-poverty UNDP projects.

They include the UNDP's "Football Workshops", which have been designed to promote sport as a forum to teach leadership, confidence, and discipline, based on the principles of tolerance, cooperation, and respect.

Later Ronaldo, as a special guest of the Peres Centre for peace, will visit "Twinned peace Football Schools", which are a part of a Palestinian-Israeli project to bring children closer together through sport.

Ronaldo is also due to meet some 800 young Palestinian and Israeli participants of the project who will play in mixed teams in a tournament held in his honour.