In this very “political” 2022 World Cup taking place in Qatar, the Palestinian flag is omnipresent. The normalization by some Arab countries of their relations with Israel has not changed the position of the peoples of the region vis-à-vis the Palestinian cause.
The most striking image is that of the Moroccan players who celebrated their qualification for the quarter-finals of the 2022 World Cup by displaying the flag of Palestine.
The Atlas Lions were the least expected to make such a gesture, Morocco being one of the Arab states to establish diplomatic relations with Israel at the end of 2020, under the aegis of former US President Donald Trump. Waving the Palestinian flag has no other meaning than to express the disagreement of the players with the decision of the political authorities of their country.
When the triangular agreement concluded in the fall of 2020 was announced, the Moroccan government highlighted the consideration obtained, namely the recognition by the United States of Moroccan sovereignty over Western Sahara. But he has hinted that he will not give up his “support” for the Palestinian people.
The gesture of the Moroccan football team can serve as an additional argument for the authorities of the kingdom in their endeavor to try to convince that Morocco is still at the side of Palestine.
The exercise is indeed very comfortable and allows you to spare the goat and the cabbage. In the eyes of public opinion, it is Morocco that expresses its attachment to the common cause of all Arabs. For the Israeli government and the American sponsor of the agreement, the initiative of the players in no way commits the Moroccan state.
Nevertheless, what Achraf Hakimi’s teammates did remains, until proven otherwise, the expression of Moroccan society’s rejection of the initiative of its rulers. Since the start of the tournament, the Palestinian flag and keffiyeh have been ubiquitous in the stands among the Moroccan supporters and all the Arab nationals present.
Normalization with Israel: the verdict of the Arab street
This 2022 World Cup was rightly presented as a serious test for normalization with Israel and the verdict has already fallen. In addition to the symbolic gestures towards Palestine, the Israeli supporters and journalists who made the trip to Qatar were not frankly welcomed with joy.
Videos of Qatari and foreign citizens refusing to speak to Israeli journalists have gone viral. The Israeli government reportedly protested officially to Qatar.
Outside of sport and the World Cup, street protests over the past two years have made clear the rejection of normalization and the support of the peoples of the region for the cause of the Palestinian people.
The demonstrations were regular and significant in Morocco precisely and in Bahrain which also opted for normalization at the same time as Sudan and the United Arab Emirates.
At a time when citizens and athletes from Arab countries were using the World Cup to express their support for Palestine, the Bahrainis demonstrated again. Last Friday, thousands took to the streets of the capital Manama to denounce the visit to the small Gulf emirate of Israeli President Isaac Herzog.
“Any normalization is an act of treason. Do not come”, wrote the demonstrators on their placards, or even “criminal”, “you are not welcome in Bahrain”, “death to Israel”…
In Rabat or Casablanca, the slogans were no less virulent during the demonstrations of recent months, each time the Kingdom and Israel took a new step in the rapprochement, including in the field of defense.
Two years after the Abraham Accords, normalization is just as rejected as on the first day. Trivialization by fait accompli has not happened and will not happen as long as the rights of the Palestinian people continue to be violated in broad daylight.
Translated from https://www.tsa-algerie.com/normalisation-avec-israel-le-verdict-du-mondial-2022/
