Israel has denied travel permits to most players on a Gazan soccer team which had hoped to cross through Israel and into the West Bank to play a local championship final against a rival Palestinian club.

Khadamat Rafah is set to play Balata FC in the West Bank on Wednesday. But without the hard-to-obtain Israeli travel permits, the game is unlikely to take place as scheduled.

“We think that this is clear evidence that this Israeli occupation is cruel but from our side we keep raising it at all the levels of FIFA. We insist that this is our right and we’ll continue exerting every effort to allow this team to do this match,” the head of the Palestinian Football Association, Jibril Rajoub, told The Associated Press.

A court in Jerusalem upheld the state’s decision on Monday.

In a statement, Israel’s Shin Bet domestic security agency, which screens permit requests, said a security check turned up information pointing to “most” of the team’s “links to terrorism.” That, coupled with heightened security threats from the Gaza Strip, prompted the agency to recommend the players be prevented entry.

(AP)