Qatar
\nMorocco\u2019s support for the Palestinians during the Atlas Lions\u2019 historic FIFA World Cup run shows the cause has not been \u201cburied\u201d, says Palestinian Football Association chief Jibril Rajoub.
\nLike several other Arab nations, Morocco has agreed full diplomatic ties with Israel \u2014 but this has not stopped its players from making clear their loyalties regarding the decades-old conflict.
\nThey unfurled a Palestinian flag on the pitch after their stunning Dec 6 upset victory against Spain, and also after beating Canada during the group stage.
\nMoroccan players have also made pro-Palestinian social media posts during the tournament.
\nPalestinians in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, Gaza and annexed east Jerusalem have \u2014 like much of the Middle East \u2014 embraced Morocco, the first Arab nation to reach a FIFA World Cup semi-finals.
\nRamallah sporting goods store owner Saeed al-Ramahi said enthusiasm for the Moroccan team seemed unquenchable, with all of their jerseys sold out.
\n\u201cIf I had 300,000 shirts, I would have sold them all in the last two days,\u201d he told AFP.
\nThat is despite Morocco joining the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain in establishing full diplomatic ties with Israel in 2020 under deals brokered by then US president Donald Trump.
\nRajoub, the Palestinian top football official, said this proves the enduring support for the Palestinian cause, regardless of any decisions made by Arab leaders.
\n\u201cThe World Cup reveals the lie that the Palestinian cause has been buried by the recent normalisation agreements\u201d said Rajoub, who is also the secretary general of Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas\u2019s Fatah movement.
\n\u2018Slap in the face\u2019
\nArab states did however secure diplomatic gains through the agreements.
\nIn Morocco\u2019s case, that included the Trump administration recognising Rabat\u2019s sovereignty over the disputed territory of Western Sahara, in defiance of the international community\u2019s long-standing call for a referendum to decide its status.
\nRajoub described the World Cup, including the Moroccan gestures and the widespread expressions of Palestinian solidarity across Qatar, as \u201ca slap in the face to the idea of normalisation\u201d.
\nThe leading Palestinian public polling group, in a study released on Tuesday, argued that \u201cthe World Cup in Qatar helps restore Palestinian public trust in the Arab world after years of disappointment\u201d.
\n\u201cThe vast majority of the Palestinians say they have now regained much \u2014 or some \u2014 of the lost confidence in the Arab peoples in light of the solidarity with Palestine expressed by the fans during the football games,\u201d said the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research.
\nRajoub called Palestinians the \u201c33rd team\u201d to qualify for the tournament in Qatar.<\/p>\n
\u2018Bitter truth\u2019
\nHazem Qassem, a spokesman for Gaza\u2019s rulers \u2014 the group Hamas who are backed strongly by Qatar \u2014 said the World Cup has affirmed the importance of the Palestinian cause \u201con the international scene\u201d.
\nIsrael is home to hundreds of thousands of Jews of Moroccan descent and some in the country have celebrated the side\u2019s stunning performance ahead of its semi-final match against France on Wednesday.
\nBut leading Israeli media outlets have conceded that, despite forecasts about a changed Middle East following the normalisation deals, the World Cup has made clear where Arab sympathies lie.
\n\u201cThe Moroccan festivities at the World Cup have proven that the Arab world is far from normalisation with Israel\u201d, the Maariv newspaper said in a commentary on Sunday.
\n\u201cAs Israeli viewers, we will continue to watch until the final whistle, while witnessing the bitter truth that the Arab fans have put before our eyes,\u201d it said.
\nThe left-wing Haaretz newspaper agreed, concluding that \u201cthe real winner of the World Cup on social media is Palestine\u201d.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Qatar Morocco\u2019s support for the Palestinians during the Atlas Lions\u2019 historic FIFA World Cup run shows the cause has not been \u201cburied\u201d, says Palestinian Football Association chief Jibril Rajoub. Like several other Arab nations, Morocco has agreed full diplomatic ties with Israel \u2014 but this has not stopped its players from making clear their loyalties […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":301347,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-301332","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sports"},"yoast_head":"\n