Palestinian activists, in collaboration with various parties including Qataris and Arabs, recently prepared for the World Cup in Qatar, but this preparation did not include preparations related to sports and football.
Several campaigns were launched on social media aimed at raising the Palestinian issue to the international agenda during the Qatar 2022 World Cup events, which bring together fans from dozens of countries.
For example, in a campaign published on Twitter under the hashtag "Palestinian Dream" it was explained that during the World Championship one should "support Palestine and make the Palestinian issue known to the world".
Also, in designed ads uploaded to the web under the title "How can you support Palestine in the World Cup?", it was suggested to wear scarves and cloths with the Palestinian flag printed on the body alongside a hat, and to wear a bracelet and armband in the colors of the PLO flag.
The campaign calls on the Arab public and the fans who come to the World Cup games in Qatar to "cheer for Palestine" on the stairs in the stands, in the squares around the stadiums, and in the gathering points of the various teams and national teams.
"Shadow each other, O people of Palestine"..
Shahid|
A large Arab presence during an event to raise the Palestinian flags in the "Derb Lusail" area of the Qatari capital Doha hours before the start of the #قفاس_العالم_Qatar_2022 pic.twitter.com/3vFNM4iXtp
— Palestinian Media Center (@PalinfoAr) November 19, 2022
In the last two weeks, young Palestinians and Arabs began to initiate the campaign.
They distributed flags and various accessories to the general public and to the fans who began to flow into the stadiums and their surroundings before the start of the games and even distributed flowers.
Some of the members of the football clubs of the Arab countries participating in the World Cup cooperated with the initiative and attached a ribbon in the colors of the Palestinian flag to their arms.
Additional field activities are expected during the month of the World Cup on behalf of the Palestinians.
Among other things, "informational camps" will be established where informational materials about the conflict with Israel will be distributed, activists will be deployed in the area of youth groups and serve as "Palestinian ambassadors".
Their role will be to come into contact with cheerleaders and fans from all over the world and talk with them directly about the Palestinian issue.
One of the organizers even stated that a website had been set up in three languages and that "the young people will direct the visitors to enter this website which will provide them with information about Palestine".
The "Palestine in the World Cup" campaign has been launched,
Regarding the initiative to raise the Palestinian flags, Rada Yassin, one of the organizers of the "Ambassadors Against Normalization" initiative, explained that the idea was inspired by the Russia-Ukraine war when fans in sports fields in European countries raised Ukrainian flags in protest of the measures taken by Putin.
"Just as the European countries believe in the justice of the Ukrainian issue, we also have the right to talk about the Palestine issue, especially since this is the first time that an Arab country hosts the World Cup games," he said.
Activists involved in the promotion of the campaign said that one of its goals is to encourage sports commentators and members of the media in Doha to talk about the Palestinian issue during the World Cup.
Streets of #Qatar عشية المونديال
علم #فلسطين من قطر 🇵🇸🇶🇦 Qatar is
in our hearts and in the heart of #Gaza
#Qatar2022 #قصة_العالم_قطر_2022 #FIFAWorldCup pic.twitter.com/wLzmreiSxZ
— Mahmoud بسام #غزة (@Ma7moudphoto) November 19, 2022
Sports commentator Hafiz Draghi, who is employed by the Qatari-funded biennial global network, beIN SPORTS, called in a tweet on Twitter to join the "Palestinian Dream" campaign.
"The flag of Palestine will be everywhere in Qatar, God willing. Normalization with Israel is betrayal, humiliation and humiliation, those who agree to it are cowards and those who justify it are stupid," he wrote.
Another initiative was branded with the hashtag "Palestine in the World Cup", and as part of it calls were distributed to wave signs that read: "Free Palestine" and "Arab Jerusalem".
In addition, the participants were asked to photograph and document the "activities supporting Palestine in the World Cup" and distribute them on the networks.
A flag for Palestine is displayed on a building in Doha during the World Cup, photo: Twitter
Moreover, as a tribute to the Palestinians, it was decided in Qatar to provide "two "viewing areas" with giant screens in the West Bank and Gaza. In the center of Gaza, a sports hall was prepared for the benefit of fans who would like to come and watch the games in the coming month, as well as in Ramallah. "We decided to take care of our brothers in Palestine, who suffer from the daily crimes of the Israeli occupation , and to share the joy of this World Cup with the Palestinian people to emphasize that their just issue will always remain present," said the assistant Qatari foreign minister.
It should be noted that 10 days ago FIFA announced that the understandings had been reached according to which Israel would operate flights to Doha during the World Cup, and that Palestinians would also be allowed to fly from Benghazi on the days of the games.
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