DOHA (Dispatches) – Palestine wasn’t forgotten by football fans at the opening of the FIFA World Cup 2022 in Qatar, Al-Resalah has reported.
Fans chanted their support for Palestine and called for the protection of Al-Aqsa Mosque.
Arab and international football fans chanted together “With souls and blood, we sacrifice for Palestine.” They also raised Palestine and Qatar flags together.
Even though the Palestine national team didn’t qualify for the tournament, Palestinian football supporters and pro-Palestine activists are using the World Cup to spread awareness about the Palestinian cause and to expose Zionist crimes.
The government of Qatar is one of the biggest supporters of the Palestinians, and has provided a large space in the fan zone for the Palestinians and their supporters to raise the issue of the occupation of their land. The Palestine flag was projected onto the sides of Qatari buildings.
According to Al-Resalah reporter Alaa Shamali, the sizable Palestinian presence will shed a much-needed light on the Palestinian cause as thousands of football fans arriving in Qatar do not know much about it. He pointed out that around 8,000 Palestinians are in Qatar to watch the matches, the largest ever Palestinian presence at a World Cup tournament.
Lebanese and Saudi youths refused to speak to Zionist regime media during the 2022 Qatar World Cup, showing their rejection of normalization of relations with the occupying regime.
Israeli media said that Lebanese fans in the World Cup “Qatar 2022” refused to speak with the Channel 12 reporters after knowing that he was Israeli.
The Israeli channel’s correspondent in Qatar said on Sunday night that the Lebanese youth were angry when they found out that the Israeli media were talking to them.
Channel 12’s reporter admitted that “almost all Arab fans we meet and introduce ourselves to generally refuse to speak to us. But there was a group of Lebanese young men, whose attitude changed 180 degrees the moment we told them that we are from Israel.”
A video circulating across social media shows Lebanese fans walking away as soon as the reporter said, “I am from Israel,” asking him “why are you even here?”
“There is no such thing as Israel. It is Palestine. Israel does not exist,”