Israel’s genocide is not tolerated by Qatari football fans

Israel’s genocide is not tolerated by Qatari football fans. The Education City Stadium in Doha, Qatar, which was gathered by thousands of football fans and players to show their support for Palestine while football players and fans around the world were being reprimanded for demonstrating solidarity with Palestine, was a perfect place where they could show their support and raise money to help Palestinians who are facing the wrath of Israel’s Gaza war.

It was a warm and windy Friday evening, and fans dressed in Palestinian colours and waving the Palestinian flag flocked to the venue off the outskirts of Doha in high spirits to watch the sun set at the former Qatar World Cup 2022 venue on the outskirts of the capital.

It was the Qatar Foundation that organized the charity match Stand with Palestine in support of Palestine. The event was the result of an initiative launched by a group of students to raise money through ticket sales and to raise awareness about the situation in Gaza, where nearly 19,000 people, including over 7,000 children, have been killed since the Israeli bombardment of Gaza began on October 7.

The event was organized by Palestinian student Karim Abbas, who said it was being played “for the children of Palestine”, who was involved in organizing the event.

A visibly emotional Abbas told: “As a Palestinian myself, it is very difficult to see those videos [from Gaza] but then I imagine the people living through this oppression and then I realize that it is much harder to endure than what I can imagine,” he said.

There were two teams competing in the tournament, including students from two Qatari schools and international players, such as former Spanish World Cup winner Javi Martinez, Moroccan international Soufiane Boufal and several members of the Qatar national team. There was one team that represented Qatar and the other team that represented Palestine.

There has been no forgetting on our part

Despite the presence of global and regional stars in the stadium, the 40,000-capacity crowd remained concentrated on what was most important to them for the night – waving the Palestinian flag and raising their voices in support for the people of Gaza.

In advance of the match, Abdellah Abdul Razzaq, a Canadian based in Qatar, told reporters that the match was being held to let Gazans know that they had not been forgotten.

It is clear from the beginning that genocide does not belong in 2023.

A number of star football players walked on to the pitch during the period preceding the match and posed for photos and signed autographs for fans, giving autographs to them as they walked on to the pitch.

It was the moment of the match’s starting for the players to return to their dressing rooms that a familiar tune began to blare from the PA system, causing the crowd to erupt into a frenzy and jump up and down.

There was a gush of emotion in the crowd as a loud rendition of the chorus brought a flood of emotions to the Palestinians in the stands.

In an interview with Al Jazeera, Abdel Wahab al-Masri, a Palestinian based in Doha, told Al Jazeera that seeing so many people supporting Palestine, regardless if they are Palestinians or not, made him very happy.

“The people in Gaza would gain great strength and greater power if they were to see this support. They would be able to resist the occupation more effectively,” he added.

During his speech, Al-Masri held a Palestinian flag in front of him as he spoke about how his country’s people find the courage to resist Israel’s occupation of their lands, along with his five compatriots.

According to him, the courage and determination you see is something the Palestinian people are raised with, citing social media videos showing Palestinian children standing firm in the face of adversity and vowing to remain steadfast despite the situation.

As the song continued on loop, al-Masri said, “The mental toughness to understand that the Gaza Strip [Gaza] is their land and they will have to reclaim it as soon as the war ends”, adding that this mental toughness is part of their upbringing.

That news provided by timenews.