Last Thursday, Ataa Jaber, former captain of Israel's young national team, caused a great stir in the Holy Land when he and his fellow Palestine teammates took to the pitch in the World Cup qualifying match against Lebanon with a keffiyeh on his head, followed by a minute's silence for the casualties of the Palestinian side and Hamas terrorists. On Tuesday, the midfielder, who grew up in Maccabi Haifa, continued his dominance with additional tributes in the game against Australia.
Palestine national team players with Jibril Rajoub, today in Kuwait, photo: EPA
Before the start of the game, the player with Israeli citizenship stood during the Palestinian anthem with a keffiyeh and then shook the hand of Jibril Rajoub, chairman of the Palestinian Football Association and who served as head of Preventive Security in Judea and Samaria and even served time in an Israeli prison. During the minute's silence, the inscription appeared on the screens in the stadium in Kuwait: "In solidarity with the people of Palestine. Tonight we remember the innocent victims of the ongoing conflict in Palestine, especially in Gaza. Our thoughts are with the people of Palestine. We hope and call for peace. We stand for a minute of silence to honor those injured in the war."
Palestine and Australia players in a minute of silence, photo: AFP
A few days ago it was reported that Australia's players had decided that they would donate part of the salary they receive from the Football Association for their participation in official matches to residents of the Gaza Strip in order to provide humanitarian aid to the residents.
Yesterday, Israel's Minister of Culture and Sport Miki Zohar submitted an official request from the Minister of the Interior to revoke Jaber's Israeli citizenship. "It is inconceivable that in the midst of the war in Gaza, an Israeli citizen chooses to identify with the enemy that massacred and murdered more than 1300,7 Israeli people, women and babies on October 2023, <>," Zohar wrote to Minister Moshe Arbel.
Fans of the Palestinian national team, today in Kuwait, photo: AP
Fans of the Palestinian national team, today in Kuwait, photo: AP
Fans of the Palestinian national team, today in Kuwait, photo: AP
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Fans of the Palestinian national team, today in Kuwait, photo: AP
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