The tournament was scheduled to be held in Jerusalem from August 12 to 15, but IFAF officials have elected to switch the biannual event to Italy,

They will now take place from September 10 to 12.

In a statement the IFAF said: "IFAF recognises the short-term change and will try to help to ensure the most national teams can participate in the event."

The IFAF Flag Football World Championship has been held since 2002 and is the showpiece tournament for senior national teams competition in 5-on-5 flag football and has separate competitions for both men and the women.

The inaugural tournament took place in Austrian capital Vienna in 2004 with further editions in Thonon-les-Bains, France in 2002, Daegu, South Korea in 2006, Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Canada in 2008, Ottawa, Canada in 2010 and last time out in Gothenburg, Sweden in 2012.

The move by the IFAF follows a similar announcement by the International Swimming Federation earlier this week when they pulled the World Junior Open Water Swimming Championships out of Israel due to the "unstable and unpredictable" situation in the region.

The second edition of the Championships were due to take place in the city of Eilat from August 28-30.

However, they are now scheduled to take place at Lake Balaton in Hungary from September 5 to 7.

More than 1,300 Palestinians and 55 Israelis are reported to have died in the latest escalation of violence between Israel and the Gaza Strip.

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