When people think of Palestine, many things will come to
mind. Despite the many wonderful things coming out of Palestine, such as its
wonderful Dates and Olive Oil produced by the Fair Trade Cop-operative Zaytoun,
it is impossible to ignore the ongoing occupation by Israel. The occupation
makes life for the Palestinian people almost unbearable with targeted violence,
food shortages and harassment being part of everyday life. This life has been
made even more difficult due to the building of the apartheid separation wall
in the West Bank and the blockades of Gaza by Israel, and more recently by
Egypt since the coup overthrowing the democratically elected Muslim Brotherhood
by the army led by General Sisi.
The Palestinians however have something they can use as
flag bearer for their resistance to occupation, which is the success of their
football team against the odds. The Palestinian football team have become a
reflection of the experiences of the Palestinian people. One key difference
being that FIFA recognised a team for a future Arab state to be called
Palestine in 1998, whilst the United Nations is yet to make such a bold move. This
week the team made history by qualifying for the Asian Cup, their first major
tournament, after beating Philippines Azkals 1-0 in the AFC Challenge Cup
final. (Highlights form the game can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3H_IKkf7f6U).
This victory has thrusted the Palestinian national team
in front of the world’s gaze. Palestine have found themselves drawn in group D
and will face two former champions, Japan and Iraq, as well as Jordan. This
will be an incredibly difficult group to get out of but it will be an
experience to savour for a team that has been through so much.
Not many national teams have had their facilities damaged,
including their national stadium being destroyed by military conflicts; however
this is just the start of the difficulties faced by the team. Even training and playing games has become
very difficult for the Palestinian national team due to travel restrictions
placed on them by Israel. Recently, Israel's refusal to issue exit visas has
resulted in players, or in some cases the entire team, being unable to
represent the country leading to cancelled matches including the World Cup
qualifiers. Reflecting the Palestinian population as a whole many players
now live outside of the Palestinian territories (they are ancestors of refugees
created by the many wars the country has faced since Israel was founded in
1948). Players come from as far away as
Chile and the United States and often find it difficult to enter the Palestinian
territories.
Many players have also suffered the same hardships as
their fellow Palestinian brothers and sisters. Striker Ziyad Al-Kord was banned
from traveling and had his house destroyed. Tariq al Quto was killed by the
Israel Defense Forces, and during the Operation Cast Lead three Palestinian
footballers, Ayman Alkurd, Shadi Sbakhe and Wajeh Moshtahe, were among the
Palestinian casualties. Famously, Mahmoud
Sarsak was detained by Israel in July 2009 for being a member of Islamic Jihad;
following a hunger strike and international pressure on his behalf from FIFA
President Sepp Blatter, he was released in July 2012.
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