RAMALLAH — FIFA President Sepp Blatter saw his Mideast peacemaking mission crumble Wednesday after the Palestinians vowed to press efforts to have Israel suspended at the upcoming World Football Congress.

After months of rising tensions over plans by the Palestinian Football Association to have its Israeli counterpart expelled from FIFA, Blatter himself flew into the region Tuesday on a mission to resolve the dispute.

At issue is a Palestinian complaint over Israeli restrictions on the freedom of movement of its players and footballing officials.

The Palestinians are also protesting the existence of five Israeli teams in settlements which are built on land they want for a future state. The clubs play in the third and fourth divisions.

Blatter first met in Jerusalem with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu who pledged to take a number of steps to ease the situation.

But after talks with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah Wednesday, it quickly became clear it was not enough, with PFA chief Jibril Rajoub saying they would not take the proposal off the agenda for the next FIFA Congress.

“We will keep the proposal on the agenda [of the upcoming FIFA Congress] for sincere and open discussions by the FIFA member associations,” Rajoub said at a joint news conference with Blatter.

“There will be no compromising on free movement of our athletes and officials.”

The Palestinians want the matter to be put to a vote at the annual FIFA Congress where it will only pass if it gets the support three-quarters of the 209 member federations.

Israel has denounced the Palestinian move as an attempt to mix politics and sport, saying such matters had no place within FIFA.