KUALA LUMPUR - Twenty-three disabled Palestinian athletes may be prevented from traveling to Malaysia for an international competition
because of Israel's offensive in Gaza, news reports said Thursday.

While 10 members of the Palestinian contingent arrived in Malaysia on
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Wednesday, the rest of the team is stranded in Gaza due to a curfew imposed by Israel Defense Forces and may miss the weeklong Far East and South Pacific Games for the Disabled, which begins Saturday, team member Khaled Fararja was quoted as saying by Malaysia's national news agency Bernama.

"It's quite difficult for them to come out from the territory now," he told Bernama. "We arrived from the West Bank yesterday, but the rest are still at the Gaza Strip."

Some 3,800 disabled athletes and officials from an expected 47 countries are scheduled to take part in the FESPIC Games, which is held every four years. Participants include those who are blind, wheelchair-bound, amputees, and others with cerebral palsy.

Palestinian participant, Kamal Abdeen, who will contest the table tennis, said his team's chance of clinching a medal was low because it had been unable to get enough practice, but they still it still wants to make its presence felt.

"We don't have high hopes on winning any medal. It's the participation that is important," he told Bernama.

Athletes will vie for medals in 19 sports including archery, athletics,
badminton, cycling, fencing, judo, lawn bowls, weight lifting, sailing,
shooting, soccer, swimming, table-tennis, bowling, wheelchair basketball and tennis.

An Asian Cup soccer qualifier between Singapore and Palestine scheduled for November 15 was canceled due to similar circumstances.

The match, which was scheduled to be held at Singapore's at Jalan Besar
Stadium, was called due to "difficulties encountered by the Palestine team in traveling out of their country as a result of heightened political tension in Gaza," the Football Association of Singapore said in a statement.