World Cup proves their cause not buried, Palestinians say
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Alaina
- . December 15, 2022
- . Update: December 15, 2022 6:36 pm
Jibril Rajoub, the president of the Palestinian Football Association, claims that Morocco’s support for the Palestinians during the Atlas Lions’ historic World Cup run demonstrates that the cause has not been “buried.”
Morocco has accepted full diplomatic relations with Israel, joining a number of other Arab countries, but this hasn’t stopped its participants from expressing their allegiance to one side or the other in the long-running war.
They raised the Palestinian flag on the field following their dramatic upset victory against Spain on December 6 as well as their victories over Canada in the group stage.
Throughout the competition, Moroccan athletes have posted on social media in support of the Palestinian people.
Like much of the Middle East, Palestinians in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, Gaza, and annexated East Jerusalem have hailed Morocco, the first Arab country to go to the World Cup semifinals.
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Saeed Al-Ramahi, the proprietor of a sporting goods business in Ramallah, stated that interest in the Moroccan team appeared to be unquenchable, with all of their jerseys being sold out. He claimed, “I would have sold every shirt I had in the last two days if I had 300,000 of them.”
According to Rajoub, the leading football official for Palestine, this demonstrates the ongoing support for the Palestinian cause, despite any decisions Arab leaders may make.
According to Rajoub, who also serves as the secretary-general of the Fatah movement, led by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, “the World Cup exposes the myth that the Palestinian cause has been buried by the recent normalisation deals.”
Rajoub called the World Cup “a smack in the face to the idea of normalisation,” referring to the Moroccan gestures as well as the other displays of Palestinian solidarity around Qatar.
According to a research released on Tuesday by the top Palestinian public polling organisation, “the World Cup in Qatar helps restore Palestinian popular trust in the Arab world after years of disappointment.”
According to the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research, “the vast majority of the Palestinians feel they have now recovered much, or some, of the lost faith in the Arab peoples in light of the solidarity with Palestine displayed by the fans during the football games.”
