Officials say the match was nixed after Argentina players were threatened -
The visit of twice world champions Argentina has attracted huge interest among fans in Israel, mainly because of Barcelona great Lionel Messi's planned participation.
Palestinians celebrated the cancellation - In Gaza, people cheered and in Ramallah the Palestinian Football Association issued a statement thanking Messi and his colleagues for cancelling the game.
"The Palestinian FA thanks Argentina's players led by star Messi for refusing to be used to serve a non-sporting goal."
Palestinian FA Chairman Jibril Rajoub said: "Values, morals and sport have secured a victory today and a red card was raised at Israel through the cancellation of the game."
Rajoub called a news conference for Wednesday in Ramallah, which he will hold outside the Argentinian representative's office. On Sunday, he called for Palestinians to burn replica shirts and pictures of Messi."I congratulate the Palestinians on the great sportive victory and on the serious blow to the occupation," Abdel-Salem Haniyeh of the Palestinian Higher Council of Sport wrote on Facebook. "We thank all the liberals among the sports people and all those who stood by our side in the demand to cancel the game between Argentina and the occupation in Jerusalem."
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Argentine Foreign Minister Jorge Faurie did not confirm the game had been axed, but told reporters in Washington on the sidelines of the Organization of American States meeting that he believed players had been reluctant to travel to Israel for the game.
Faurie said players had received threats over playing the game and were uncomfortable with it going ahead.
He also cited jerseys stained with red paint resembling blood which had been displayed at a protest outside the team's practice facility in Barcelona Tuesday as a cause for concern. Protesters had said the jerseys were meant to be a comment on supposed Israeli crimes, not a threat against the players.
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