After weeks of speculation, Jordan’s national basketball team informed the international basketball federation, FIBA, that it will not field a team against Israel on Sunday in the 2025 Under-19 Basketball World Cup due to the ongoing war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

Israel will automatically gain a 20-0 technical victory over Jordan. It defeated hosts Switzerland handily 102-77 the night before in its first-ever U-19 World Cup game, while Jordan fell 69:79 to the Dominican Republic, the other team in its group.

During Israel’s game against Switzerland, a protester burst onto the court waving a Palestinian flag.

While the Jordanians could have been booted from the contest for their action, FIBA chose not to take measures at this time in order not to disrupt the first-round playoffs in the contest, which started Saturday.

The Israel-Jordan game had been scheduled for the evening at the Cooly Arena in Lausanne.

“On behalf of the Basketball Association, I regret the decision of the Jordanian team,” Israel Basketball Association chairman Amos Frishman said in a statement.

“I had hoped that the Jordanians would still come to play to show everyone that things can be different, especially during this time. I believe that sports is a bridge between peoples and cultures and not a........

© The Times of Israel