A New Failure of the Abraham Accords: This Is How the Palestinian Cause Emerged Strongly in the Qatar World Cup

Qatar, which is hosting the 2022 World Cup, is witnessing unparalleled interest and strong prominence for the Palestinian cause, amid clear and evident support from the country and the Qatari people, in addition to large numbers of Arab and foreign fans.

Although “Israel” imposed itself on the World Cup in one way or another, in agreement with FIFA, the Arab fans expressed in various ways their rejection of what was called the Abraham Accords, or the approach of normalization with “Israel.”

There were video recordings showing the refusal of many fans to speak to Israeli media present in Qatar to cover the activities of the World Cup.

Support for Palestine has not been limited to stadiums only but has also reached social media platforms, as fans use the hashtag #RaisePalestineFlag while sharing photos and videos from the Qatari stadiums and streets, according to a Middle East Eye report on November 24, 2022.

 

Prominent Presence

Almost every Qatar 2022 World Cup match had fans raising the Palestinian flag, wearing a Palestinian keffiyeh, and chanting slogans in solidarity with the Palestinian people.

At a time when “Israel” believed that it had put a foot forward among the Arab peoples and had gained interest in the region two years after it signed the Abraham Accords, it surprised that Palestine was present strongly in the World Cup while it was an outcast.

Although Palestine and “Israel” did not participate in the 2022 World Cup, the Palestinian cause imposed its prominent presence in the events and in the stands of the World Cup stadiums, which is being organized for the first time in an Arab country, while the Israeli journalists were not accepted, either through press interviews with them or by receiving them from the restaurant owners.

Many scenes circulated on social media showed the refusal of the fans in Qatar to speak to the Israeli media in reference to their support for the Palestinian cause, which represented a blow to the Israeli occupation.

The Israeli broadcasters were embarrassed more than once, especially since the same situation was repeated with other Arab youths refusing to recognize “Israel.”

The youths uttered the phrases “Free Palestine” and ”There is no such thing as Israel” as well as ‘Palestine is proud’ in the face of the Israeli broadcaster, which shocked him at the strength of the answer.

Before the start of the opening match of the World Cup, the Lusail Trail area witnessed sporting and artistic activities and chants praising the Palestinian cause, with the participation of the Palestinian and Arab communities in the capital, Doha, who distributed the keffiyeh and the flag to the audience, who talked about the suffering of our people as a result of the violations of the Israeli occupation.

The event also received unprecedented media coverage from most Qatari, Arab, and international media, without exception.

This is not considered the first solidarity, but the past days witnessed a wide interaction of the Arab fans with the Palestinian cause, which carried the flags of Palestine while touring Doha and the Qatari regions.

On the other hand, the famous Colombian singer Maluma withdrew from a press interview he was having with an Israeli broadcaster just one day before the start of the Qatar World Cup.

An Israeli broadcaster asked the World Cup star why he did not withdraw from the global event, like Shakira and Dua Lipa, and whether his participation was tantamount to whitewashing the image of Qatar, which is being subjected to an unprecedented smear campaign.

Maluma had no choice but to withdraw from the meeting, describing the broadcaster as insolent.

It is noteworthy that these steps in support of Palestine’s presence in the World Cup come at a time when Qatar recently refused to cooperate with the Israeli cellular companies during the World Cup period.

According to the Hebrew channel Kan, tens of thousands of Israeli fans heading to the World Cup had to purchase a Qatari SIM card for their cell phones.

Qatar had also recently rejected a request to open a temporary Israeli consulate in Doha during the 2022 World Cup.

The Qatari refusal comes after a step that displeased “Israel” last August, after canceling its name on the FIFA website page on the country map and replacing it with the phrase Occupied Palestinian Territories.

 

Denying ‘Israel’

In the same context, Israeli media reported that Arab fans in the 2022 Qatar World Cup are distancing themselves from the Israeli media and rejecting normalization with “Israel.”

“The Hebrew channels Kan, 12, and 13 told Reuters that those who were asked to conduct interviews turned their backs, refused, or shouted Palestine, and wrapped flags on their shoulders,” as reported by Israeli-based i24NEWS television network.

“The fans are avoiding the Israeli correspondents in a move that could illustrate the challenges inherent in warming relations between the Gulf and Tel Aviv,” it added.

The network pointed out that “Israeli officials expressed their hope that the Abraham Accords, which the United States brokered with the UAE and Bahrain, in 2020, and later with Sudan and Morocco, would lead to further normalization, including with Saudi Arabia, which It has its weight in the region.”

It confirmed that “attempts to talk to football fans in Doha did not go according to plan,” adding that “footage circulated online shows Saudi fans, a Qatari shopper and a number of Lebanese fans deliberately distancing themselves from Israeli reporters.”

Away from the lenses of the live broadcast, many Israelis were rejected and denied by taxi drivers and in restaurants and cafes, as the Arabs refused to deal with them in any way, which made them feel rejected and unwelcome.

In turn, the correspondent of the Hebrew newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth, Raz Shechnik, revealed the details of what happened with the newspaper’s staff in Qatar during their coverage of the atmosphere of the World Cup.

“It is impossible not to tell you what we are going through here after ten days in Doha, about hostility, we are not welcome,” Shechnik said in a tweet.

The newspaper’s correspondent added, “a Qatari citizen told us when we told him that we were from Israel: Indeed, you are not welcome here, get away from here as quickly as possible.”

Shechnik explained that “the crew is subjected to hateful looks in the street where Palestinians, Iranians, Qataris, Moroccans, Jordanians, Syrians, Egyptians and Lebanese are present.”

“We introduced ourselves as Israelis, but when we saw that this always leads to a difficult confrontation with the Arabs, leading to insults, we decided to introduce ourselves as journalists from Ecuador,” he said.

The same Israeli journalist had been exposed to a situation while trying to talk to a Saudi fan, as the look of despair was clear on the face of the journalist, while activists pointed out that the normalization deals with “Israel” will not generate any peace in the region.

In turn, Palestinian journalist Iyad Hamad explained in a statement to Al-Estiklal that “the World Cup in Qatar constituted a golden opportunity for the Arab peoples to harness all their energies in opposing normalization with Israel, which confirms the importance and vitality of the status of Palestine and its cause in the minds and consciences of the Arabs.”

The journalist also pointed out that “the solidarity of the Arab fans in the Qatar World Cup with the Palestinian cause confirms that the behavior of the Arab regimes and the signing of normalization agreements with the occupation to integrate is a unilateral behavior and orientation that does not express the pulse and aspirations of the Arab peoples at all, which reflects a large gap between the peoples and the regimes normalized with the Israeli occupation.”

“The Arab fans’ refusal to appear on the Israeli media blocked the way for the Israeli occupation to cover up its crimes against the land, people, and Palestinian sanctities, and also a new slap in the face of the occupation, which has been exploiting any event to find popular acceptance in Arab and Islamic circles,” Mr. Hamad added.

The scenes of rejection of the Israelis in Qatar and support for the Palestinians, on the other hand, are completely consistent with what was shown by the results of the recent opinion poll conducted by the Washington Institute for Research last March, which showed a large percentage of opposition among the Arab masses to normalization and acceptance of “Israel.”

In Bahrain, the percentage of those who oppose normalization reached 71%, while in the UAE, it reached 76%, and it reached 75% in Saudi Arabia, which means that the numbers are expanding and the rejection of normalization is increasing among peoples.

It is noteworthy that the decline in the proportions of supporters of the normalization agreements in the Gulf Arab countries is expected, which appeared with the passage of time and the real Israeli goals behind the normalization agreements became clear.