Palestinian flags are flying everywhere in Qatar, while Israeli fans are keeping quiet. The Israeli-Palestinian conflict is being felt at the first World Cup on Arab soil.
Despite moves by several Arab countries, not including Qatar, to normalize relations with Israel, the Palestinian cause is being embraced by many Arab fans and some officials.
Violent confrontations between Arab fans and Israeli media have gone viral, including footage of a Saudi fan berating an Israeli TV reporter. That footage has been viewed more than 5.2 million times on Twitter.
"There is only Palestine, there is no Israel... you are not welcome here," the fan shouts at Moav Vardi, a reporter for Israel's public broadcaster.
The Arab fans who flooded Qatar have refused to speak to the Israeli media. While some shout "Long live Palestine" in front of Israeli television cameras.
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"We find it very difficult to work here," Vardi said, adding that he understood the Arab anger.
Many Qataris have placed the Palestinian flag next to their national coat of arms, hanging from the windows of their luxury cars. Some Qataris sitting in a VIP section of the stadium have armbands displaying the Palestinian hat, while the Palestinian song "Ali Al-Keffiyeh" is played regularly in the fan areas.
"Some foreigners don't recognize the Palestinian flag and ask us about it," said Yahya Abu Hantash, a 33-year-old Palestinian who lives in Doha and wears a Qatari jersey and a Palestinian flag to every game. "This is a golden opportunity to present our cause."
Qatar has no relations with Israel and remains a supporter of the long-standing Palestinian cause for statehood. Official Doha backs Hamas, the Palestinian Islamist group that rules the Gaza Strip, and provides vital financial aid to residents of the coastal enclave blockaded by Israel since 2007. Qatar criticized the moves by other Arab countries, including the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Morocco. , to normalize relations in 2020. While Palestinian symbols are ubiquitous, an Israeli fan, who introduced himself as Haim, said this was his fourth World Cup. But the first where he did not bring the flag of his country.
"I feel like I'm watching the World Cup in disguise. The atmosphere towards us is hostile," Haim said.
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The Israeli government advised soccer fans to hide Jewish "symbols" as part of its "Safe World Cup" campaign.
Haim, 57, came with his two sons on a charter flight from Tel Aviv airport. About 10,000 Israelis are in Qatar for the soccer tournament, according to diplomat Alon Levy who was in Doha to organize consular coverage. FIFA hailed an agreement allowing Palestinians and Israelis to travel to Qatar on special charter flights from Tel Aviv as a platform "to improve relations across the Middle East". Qatar insisted that Palestinians be allowed to travel with Israelis as a condition of allowing direct flights, which will stop after the World Cup final on December 18. Officials said there were no Palestinians on the first two direct flights, although some are expected to fly on the third on Tuesday.
A Palestinian official, who requested anonymity, said no one had talked about the flight deal with the Palestinian Authority, which is based in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.
"We learned the news from television", he admitted.
Israel has occupied the Palestinian territories of East Jerusalem and the West Bank since the 1967 Six-Day War with Arab nations. Most Palestinians go to Qatar via Jordan or Egypt, as Israel severely restricts access to Tel Aviv airport, the official said.
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About 250,000 Palestinians live in Qatar, which has a population of about 2.9 million, most of them foreigners.
Suhaib Al-Issa, a 16-year-old Jordanian, said the flag-waving was a sign of "peaceful resistance to express our rejection of normalization with a country that occupies Palestine". The Qatari government did not comment on the treatment of Israeli citizens during the World Cup.
