Israeli and Palestinian Olympic officials reaffirmed their desire to build stronger ties Wednesday, but came away without any tangible breakthroughs during a “Sports for Peace” meeting in Italy.

The meeting was arranged by International Olympic Committee Vice President Mario Pescante as a follow-up to initial talks led by IOC President Jacques Rogge in January.

Palestenian Olympic Committee President Jibril Rajoub pushed for Israel to allow Palestinian athletes and coaches more freedom to travel from the West Bank and Gaza Strip, and to make it easier for visiting teams to play football friendlies.

“This is very important for the Palestinian people and I think it should also be important for the Israeli people,” Rajoub said. “The Palestinian players and athletes are not able to move inside the Palestinian territories and from the Palestinian territories to outside.”Read more