[News] “Qatar World Cup 2022: Palestine 1, Israel 0”

[Anti-Imperialist News]

qudsnen.co <https://qudsnen.co/qatar-world-cup-2022-palestine-1-israel-0/>
“Qatar World Cup 2022: Palestine 1, Israel 0”
QudsN - December 1, 2022
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[image: image.png]

During the 48th minute of the Tunisia-Australia match at the World Cup in
Qatar last Saturday, Tunisian fans held up a huge flag bearing the words:
“Free Palestine.” Moroccan fans did the same the next day during their
team’s game against Belgium.

For Palestinians, 48 is a key number in the memory of their national
catastrophe. It refers to 1948, the year of the Nakba, when their
grandparents were killed and expelled from their homeland to create the
state of Israel. Many Arabs use this number to express their love and
support for Palestinians.

The displays of Palestinian banners by Tunisian and Moroccan fans came as
Israeli TV presenters complained that Arab fans have not welcomed
<https://m.jpost.com/middle-east/article-723449> them at the football
tournament in Qatar. Numerous videos have shown Arab fans refusing to talk
to Israeli channels and expressing their support for Palestinians.

Morocco was among several Arab countries that in 2020 signed US-brokered
normalisation deals with Israel. But the news emerging from Doha shows that
many Arab fans have given a red card to the so-called Abraham Accords,
despite efforts from the UAE and Bahrain to portray the deals as popular.

Since the 2011 Arab Spring and the ensuing counter-revolution, social media
has increasingly been policed by authoritarian regimes. Dissidents in Gulf
states have been silenced and imprisoned, while troll armies have dictated
the political discourse. The Abraham Accords came against a backdrop of
unprecedented repression, enabling Gulf powers to portray an imaginary
groundswell of support.

*Space for expression*
Yet, despite this attempt to control the national debate, a recent poll
<https://www.washingtoninstitute.org/policy-analysis/arab-public-opinion-arab-israeli-normalization-and-abraham-accords>
by the Washington Institute showed that an overwhelming majority of people
in seven Arab countries – around 80 percent – view the Abraham Accords as
“very negative” or “somewhat negative”.

Today, the World Cup in Qatar is providing an open space for Arab peoples –
from Morocco in the west to Saudi Arabia in the east – to express
themselves about the process of normalisation with Israel. People can say
their piece in football bleachers and fan zones, and on the streets.

One viral video
<https://twitter.com/saaed_bsharat/status/1595165677974917140?s=46&t=pFqFXZbFth5rvW1dqY2mpQ>
shows an Israeli reporter complaining that Arab fans were refusing to speak
with him because of his Israeli nationality. Indeed, many videos from
Doha’s fan zones have shown Arab attendees
<https://twitter.com/haithamtabei/status/1596526068919418880?s=46&t=WSmqrcXmdtl8UdaFgscL3Q>
shouting at reporters when they realise they are working for Israeli
channels.

Tunisia fans have unfurled a massive "Free Palestine" flag. #TUNAUS
<https://twitter.com/hashtag/TUNAUS?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw>
pic.twitter.com/LMbrAqGzgP <https://t.co/LMbrAqGzgP>

— Samantha Lewis (@battledinosaur) November 26, 2022
<https://twitter.com/battledinosaur/status/1596461810206625794?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw>

After Morocco’s normalisation with Israel, the massive display of the
Palestinian flag by Moroccan fans during Sunday’s game carried a
particularly poignant political message. A video of Moroccan fans at the
World Cup singing a powerful, emotional song dedicated to Palestine also
gained traction on social media.

Such videos show the true reality of the Arab masses rejecting
normalisation deals with Israel, which have been imposed by Arab regimes.
The shock expressed by Israeli journalists at their own reception during
the tournament has further exposed the facade that Israeli politicians have
attempted to construct.

Former Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who was re-elected
earlier this month, built a significant part of his legacy on the claim of
creating good relations with Arab countries, without solving the
Palestinian conflict. Recently, Netanyahu wrote
<https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/israel-netanyahu-ask-world-forget-occupation-ben-gvir-front-centre>
in Haaretz: “For the past 25 years, we were told repeatedly that peace with
other Arab countries would come only after we resolved the conflict with
the Palestinians.” Yet, he added, the “road to peace does not run through
Ramallah, but rather around it”.

*Western hypocrisy*
Some American commentators and politicians have asserted that the
Palestinian issue is no longer important for Arabs, suggesting that Israel
can enjoy peace and normal relations with Arab states without solving the
Palestinian issue. But recent footage from the World Cup in Qatar belies
this claim, showing that while Arab regimes might be on board, the Arab
masses are most decidedly not.

Beyond feelings of solidarity towards Palestinians, the close public
alliance between Israeli politicians and corrupt Arab dictators has
increased hostility towards the Israeli state among Arab publics. Many see
the two sides working in tandem to suppress their ambitions and dreams for
human rights, dignity, democracy and prosperity.

In a 2019-20 poll
<https://www.dohainstitute.org/en/Lists/ACRPS-PDFDocumentLibrary/Arab-Opinion-Index-2019-2020-Inbreef-English-Version.pdf>
by the Arab Centre for Research and Policy Studies, 79 percent of Arab
people said the Palestinian cause was an Arab issue, not just a Palestinian
one. In the same poll, Israel was seen as the biggest threat to Arab
countries, exceeding the US and Iran.

Yet, while the western media has largely ignored the outpouring of support
for Palestinians at the World Cup, a tsunami of coverage has focused on the
issues of workers’ rights and LGBTQ+ rights in Qatar. A number of European
teams had planned to wear armbands promoting LGBTQ+ rights before Fifa
warned that they would receive yellow cards for doing so.

Germany’s interior minister fuelled the debate by wearing an armband in the
stands and publishing her picture on Twitter, while German players covered
their mouths in protest against the Fifa restrictions in a team photo. But
activists have condemned the hypocrisy of these moves when Germany has
cracked down on Palestinian activism at home.

Arab football fans and players have a long history of expressing support
for Palestine, from chanting supportive songs to displaying slogans in
solidarity with Gaza, despite the penalties levied for political messaging.
During the current World Cup, one viral video on Arab social media shows a
Saudi YouTuber selling flags of different countries, and giving customers
an extra Palestinian flag as a gift. Such stories rarely gain attention in
the western media.

While Arab fans are often told not to mix sports with politics, European
teams and fans have rightly taken the opportunity this year to show support
for Ukraine in the wake of Russia’s invasion. Clearly, different standards
are applied depending on the cause, highlighting the need for journalists
to look beyond the western bubble.

By Feras Abu Helal
Source: Middle East Eye
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