(ATR) Palestinian Prime Minister Salman Fayyad says his country's landmark international fixture against Thailand was a crucial step on the road to statehood and that he hopes to see Palestine compete at next year's London Olympics as an independent state.
"Football in Palestine has come a long way," Fayyad told reporters at Wednesday night's Olympic qualifier in Ramallah - the first time a competitive international match that has been played on Palestinian soil.
"Relative to a couple of years ago, what we have now is a competitive match as you can tell, one side representing a country that has been around for a very long time, and the other - well, we're working on becoming a country."
Of the London Olympics, he added: "It is definitely something to look forward to. We are definitely going to show up in London, hopefully as the state of Palestine."
Palestine's footballers will not be joining the country's other athletes after losing their preliminary tie with Thailand 6-5 on penalties.
Palestine won 1-0 on the night, following an earlier 0-1 defeat away to Thailand in the first leg. Abdulhamid Abuhabib from Gaza scored the only goal with a stunning volley into the corner of the net shortly before half-time.
Fayyad said that the day's significance was ultimately political.
FIFA has recognized Palestine since 1998, through the painful collapse of the Oslo-brokered peace talks and the al-Aqsa intifada. With the country now on the brink of statehood, he said that it was more evidence that the country was assuming the vestiges of a fully fledged country.
A poignant reminder of the struggles Palestine continues to face under Israeli occupation came when Israel blocked eight players crossing into the West Bank from Gaza. Four players were allowed to pass, along with six Gazan Palestine FA officials and six Gaza-based journalists.
Nor were Palestine's players the only ones to encounter Israel's border restrictions.
AFC president Mohamed Bin Hammam was detained at the Jordanian border on Monday night for nearly two hours, despite holding a diplomatic passport.
For more from Ramallah, visit World Football Insider.
Reported from Ramallah by James Corbett.
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