Palestine’s Hussein Sheiokhi scores Jordan 4×4 podium, making “every effort to show up”

Although he and his Palestinian compatriots did not repeat the domination of the season opener in February, Hussein Sheiokhi was still more than happy to secure a third-place overall finish in the second round of the Jordan 4×4 Championship. The race was held Friday at Wasfi Al-Tal Forest in Amman.

He and co-driver Mohammed Baghdadi piloted a Jeep Wrangler, finishing third outright and in the Pro category behind Thabet and Mohammed Mheirat and Raad Azmaf and Islam Al-Dawaimeh. The Mheirats and Azmaf/Al-Dawaimeh raced Toyota Hiluxes, making Sheiokhi the best performing non-Hilux and one of two non-Toyotas to score a podium that day alongside the Jeep Grand Cherokee of Amateur class winner Khaled Sowan.

The twenty-eight teams were naturally heavily Jordanian, with Sheiokhi and Baghdadi representing Palestine alongside the Kia Sorento of Amjad and Imad Hanneh, Mohammed Hananah and Mohammed Abu Al-Asal (Toyota Land Cruiser), and Yousef and Samer Qaraira (Jeep Wrangler). Kuwait also had a team courtesy of Suleiman Al-Khudairi and Rakan Hammad.

Palestinians swept the top four at the championship’s first race in February when Emad Khabeis led Hazem Foudeh, Wisam Khalileh, and Hananah. Sheyoukhi finished eighth in that race.

“Alhamdulillah (‘Praise be to God’), we got third place in the race in the second round of the 4×4 Challenge,” said Sheiokhi. “It was more than a wonderful race.

“I came from Palestine and the West Bank so that we can race with everyone. We join all the races and we make every effort to show up, to make an impact, and to have a role. May God bless you.”

The Palestinian Motor Sport & Motorcycle Federation is headquartered in the West Bank, where many Palestinian racers also reside. Although the West Bank is not the focal target of Israel’s operations in its war with Hamas, who is based in Gaza, Israeli incursions and fighting in the West Bank—both militarily and settler violence—have occurred.

The war has also spilled over into Jordan, which shares a border with Israel and the West Bank. With the conflict so close by, Jordan Motorsport cancelled the FIA and FIM Baja World Cups’ Jordan Baja last November. Jordan maintains close relations with both Palestine and Israel, but has harshly criticised the latter for causing substantial civilian casualties.

Given the countries’ proximities, Palestinian competitors typically head to Jordan to race. Sheiokhi’s podium came on the heels of another Palestinian top three when Tarek Sarsour finished third in the Al-Hussein Hill Climb in late June.

“Despite the Israeli war of extermination against the Palestinian people, and despite the bleeding wounds and the wounded homeland, the Palestinian team continues its journey of success and winning internationally,” reads a statement from the PMSMF.

The third and final race of the 2024 Jordan 4×4 Championship is scheduled for 6 September.