FIFA stopped short of suspending the Israeli football federation on Thursday but called for a disciplinary investigation into potential discrimination as alleged by Palestinian football officials.

A senior FIFA panel responsible for governance will separately investigate "the participation in Israeli competitions of Israeli football teams allegedly based in the territory of Palestine," football’s governing body announced following a meeting of its ruling Council.

The Palestinian football federation has, for more than a decade, consistently requested that FIFA take action against the Israeli football body for including teams from West Bank settlements in its leagues.

These compromise decisions come more than four months after Palestinian officials urged FIFA to suspend Israel’s membership at a meeting in May.

The request made to FIFA's Congress in May also referenced "international law violations" in Gaza during the Israel-Hamas conflict and pointed FIFA towards its statutory commitments concerning human rights and anti-discrimination policies.

FIFA delayed making a decision in May, pending a legal review scheduled for July, and then postponed the matter twice more before Thursday’s meeting.

"The FIFA Council has exercised due diligence on this highly sensitive issue, and based on a comprehensive assessment, we have adhered to the advice of independent experts," FIFA President Gianni Infantino said in a statement.

This latest procedure follows a familiar pattern – under both Infantino and his predecessor Sepp Blatter – of Palestinian appeals for FIFA to enforce its legal statutes, with the issue subsequently being deferred to ad hoc panels and other committees.

FIFA has not provided a timetable for the investigations it has now requested.