As violence escalates 60 miles from Gaza, players stuck in the West Bank hope to escape the occupied territory before it is too late
Stadiums tear-gassed, players killed, careers destroyed. This is the world of the Palestinian footballer, struggling to stay alive in the shadow of war.In an increasingly volatile West Bank, a segregated and disputed territory under both Palestinian and Israeli control 60 miles to the east of Gaza, football once offered a hint of normality amid the violent upheaval, but even that is a distant dream now.
Attempts to revive the West Bank’s league this August failed because of the dangers of travelling between cities in the territory.In places like Tulkarem, sandwiched between the metropolis of Nablus and the Israeli city of Netanya, occupation has become a reality of daily life. While the Israeli Premier League rolls on, Palestine’s national side are unable even to play their home matches as hoped at the Faisal Al-Husseini Stadium of Jerusalem Governorate, in Al-Ram, in the central part of the West Bank. Last year, the ground was tear-gassed by IDF forces during the final of the Abu Ammar Cup between Markaz Balata and Jabal Al-Mukaber. Bassim was playing on that day.
“We want to see football thrive in both Israel and Palestine. To that end, Fifa must not let football be an instrument of territorial expansion.”, Israel’s Football Association insisted that “time after time, the PFA claims about that issue and others are rejected.
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