The conflict between Israel and Palestine has been a source of tension in the Middle East for decades. It also comes out a lot during the World Cup, while Israel and Palestine are not participating. For example, during Tunisia’s matches, a Palestinian flag appeared in the stands with the text “Free Palestine” and fans chanted “Free Palestine”.
Where do Arab aversion to Israel and sympathy for Palestine come from? According to Middle East expert Erwin van Veen van Clingendael, the fans’ actions show their dissatisfaction with Israel’s occupation of the Palestinian territories and the fact that Palestinian rights are being trampled upon.
Anger at rapprochement
The leaders of two countries, the Emirates and Bahrain, agreed in 2020 to improve relations between Israel and the Arab countries. The incidents in Qatar underscore that these agreements were made among elites and that ordinary citizens disagree with them.
“Also, we must not forget that the two countries that signed the so-called Abraham Accords are not regional superpowers and that Lebanon and Syria, among others, still have very bad relations with Israel,” says Van Veen. Many citizens of Arab countries are angry about the rapprochement with Israel. “The leaders of two authoritarian Arab countries have reached an agreement with Israel, but revulsion prevails among ordinary people in the region.”
Citizens of these Arab countries see that the Israeli government oppresses and exploits the Palestinians and therefore do not want their governments to improve ties with Israel. “Western attitude is often seen as hypocritical: Western governments support Israel despite continuous human rights violations, while generally speaking about it,” says Erwin van Veen.
Palestine has long been able to count on the support of Qatar. The country has no official ties to Israel and supports Hamas, says Van Veen. This can also be seen during the World Cup.
Qatar is receiving a lot of criticism from the international community during the World Cup. This mainly concerns human rights violations in stadium construction and the lack of inclusion for the LGBTI community.
The fact that the Qatari authorities are not taking action against the pro-Palestinian statements seems to be at odds with the ban on the OneLove armband which, among others, Dutch captain Virgil van Dijk wanted to wear at the World Cup. For example, players would get a yellow card if they wore that belt. The Dutch national team therefore withdrew. “We put an end to all political questions after inviting migrant workers to our training last week,” said international coach Louis van Gaal.
When Dutch sports minister Conny Helder visited the match between the Netherlands and Qatar, he also drew a comparison between the pro-Palestinian statements in Qatar and the OneLove bracelet. Qatar’s justice minister sat next to her wearing a black and white bracelet, as shown in the photo above. The band is a statement of support for the Palestinians. Helder called it “a strong response to the OneLove campaign” for diversity and inclusion, devised by the KNVB.
Not comparable
However, according to Erwin van Veen, Arab support for the Palestinians is not a direct response to the OneLove campaign, and the presence of Israeli journalists at the World Cup is primarily a reason for Arab supporters to express their dissatisfaction with Israel. The conflict between Israel and Palestine has been going on for decades, and Qatar has long supported the Palestinian side. According to Van Veen, the expressions cannot therefore be directly compared to each other.
