<div dir="ltr">
<div class="gmail-top-anchor"></div>
<div id="gmail-toolbar" class="gmail-toolbar-container">
</div><div class="gmail-container" dir="ltr" lang="en">
<div class="gmail-header gmail-reader-header gmail-reader-show-element">
<a class="gmail-domain gmail-reader-domain" href="https://qudsnen.co/qatar-world-cup-2022-palestine-1-israel-0/">qudsnen.co</a>
<div class="gmail-domain-border"></div>
<h1 class="gmail-reader-title">“Qatar World Cup 2022: Palestine 1, Israel 0”</h1>
<div class="gmail-credits gmail-reader-credits">QudsN - December 1, 2022<br></div>
</div>
<hr>
<div class="gmail-content">
<div class="gmail-moz-reader-content gmail-reader-show-element"><div id="gmail-readability-page-1" class="gmail-page"><div>
<img src="cid:ii_lb65a0xh0" alt="image.png" width="392" height="221"><br><p>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. </p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>The displays of Palestinian banners by Tunisian and Moroccan fans came as Israeli TV presenters complained that Arab fans <a href="https://m.jpost.com/middle-east/article-723449" rel="noopener" target="_blank">have not welcomed</a>
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. </p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p><strong>Space for expression</strong><br>
Yet, despite this attempt to control the national debate, a recent <a href="https://www.washingtoninstitute.org/policy-analysis/arab-public-opinion-arab-israeli-normalization-and-abraham-accords" rel="noopener" target="_blank">poll</a>
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”.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>One viral <a href="https://twitter.com/saaed_bsharat/status/1595165677974917140?s=46&t=pFqFXZbFth5rvW1dqY2mpQ" rel="noopener" target="_blank">video</a>
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 <a href="https://twitter.com/haithamtabei/status/1596526068919418880?s=46&t=WSmqrcXmdtl8UdaFgscL3Q" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Arab attendees</a> shouting at reporters when they realise they are working for Israeli channels.</p>
<blockquote>
<p dir="ltr" lang="en">Tunisia fans have unfurled a massive "Free Palestine" flag. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/TUNAUS?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#TUNAUS</a> <a href="https://t.co/LMbrAqGzgP">pic.twitter.com/LMbrAqGzgP</a></p>
<p>— Samantha Lewis (@battledinosaur) <a href="https://twitter.com/battledinosaur/status/1596461810206625794?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 26, 2022</a></p></blockquote>
<p>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.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>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 <a href="https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/israel-netanyahu-ask-world-forget-occupation-ben-gvir-front-centre" rel="noopener" target="_blank">wrote</a>
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”. </p>
<p><strong>Western hypocrisy</strong><br>
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.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>In a 2019-20 <a href="https://www.dohainstitute.org/en/Lists/ACRPS-PDFDocumentLibrary/Arab-Opinion-Index-2019-2020-Inbreef-English-Version.pdf" rel="noopener" target="_blank">poll</a>
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.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>By Feras Abu Helal<br>
Source: Middle East Eye</p>
<h3><br></h3>
</div></div></div>
</div>
<div>
</div>
<div></div>
</div>
</div>