As reported this morning (Tuesday) in "Israel Today" about the discussion that is expected to take place in the National League ahead of the trip of many Israelis to the World Cup in Qatar. Despite the possibility of a travel warning, some Israelis choose to fly anyway, some of them will stay a whole month in a country that Israelis can enter with an Israeli passport only for this period.
Yuval Lidor, an Israeli who plans to fly to Qatar despite the chance that there will be a recommendation to avoid reaching the destination.
Lidor told Israel Today: "I'm going to see three out of four quarterfinals, we already have plane tickets, we are flying for five days and we also booked hotels in Doha. We have already received a visa, we have already been approved for the visa even though we are Israelis with an Israeli passport. I have a German passport, I used an Israeli to see how they deal with it.The entry visa is called HAAYA, so that Israelis can actually enter Qatar.We will fly through Istanbul.
"The flight will depart in the first week of December. We are traveling four friends and everyone has already received the permits," Lidor said, referring to publications about the concerns regarding the discussion.
"Even if the National Security Council recommends not flying, I will fly.
There is a very unique World Cup here that takes place in the winter, the players will arrive at peak fitness and is going to be very interesting.
"Unlike big tournaments in recent decades and I have been to several of them, the uniqueness of this tournament will allow you to see several games a day because the greatest distance between the stadiums is 60 km and there is excellent public transport in Qatar."
He added: "We are not afraid, it was expected that there would be concern for the State of Israel and that they would consider not flying there, we took everything into account, we are aware of the risk and yet we decided to fly and go for it This in the safest way possible.
If there is a problem here, it is something that will go decades ahead and we are sure that everything will be fine there. "
"Unique tournament", the World Cup ball in Qatar, Photo: API
Kobi, another Israeli who chooses to fly to Qatar even if there are recommendations not to do so, explains why he will spend an entire month in the country where the World Cup will take place: "It is quite clear why the country is doing it, "For a whole month in Qatar. I feel more comfortable flying to Qatar than flying to the World Cup that was in Brazil at the time."
Kobe added on a personal experience from the past: "When I flew to Brazil I was very scared, I bought every possible insurance, Qatar is a completely western country, with great infrastructure, the Qataris have invested huge sums in this tournament and it is going to shape their heritage in the modern age. I do not want a situation From the head of a fan to fall, especially when it comes to Israeli fans, they will not let anything seal their legacy and one of the greatest things they have ever done.It is true that they can not control everything, but they have almost absolute control over those entering the country and I think the Qataris do above and beyond "In order to ensure the freedom and security of all the fans who come to the country, we were imprisoned for two years in houses, it was time to go back to life."
Ben Gurion Airport (photographed has nothing to do with the article), Photo: Yossi Zeliger
Matan Peled, VP of ISTA Sport, commented on the high demand and the size of the event: "In terms of demand, we see a very high demand for Qatar from the beginning, it is not new that we do not have relations with Qatar and it is not possible to fly to it at the moment.
There is a very big demand also because it is a one-time opportunity to be in Qatar, it is a different World Cup from the other World Cups, everything is very close and you can watch four games a day.
32 teams are going to be in the same place and the atmosphere will be very special.
I'm not a security expert but people we talk to understand that there are alerts about Sinai and Turkey as well and they are traveling.
I myself have been there twice in the last few months to organize it and everything is very western, very safe and the Qataris have invested insane sums for this event and I do not believe they will take the slightest risk there, if there is the smallest story there is that they will remember and they will do anything to keep All the fans. "
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