Al Ram, Palestine // Thousands of jubilant Palestinian supporters took the rare and historic chance to cheer on their national team against the UAE in a World Cup qualifier on Tuesday, despite a fierce sandstorm and a massive traffic jam at an Israeli checkpoint.
Many of the fans stuck in the gridlock abandoned their vehicles and walked the three kilometres between the Qalandia checkpoint and the Faisal Al Husseini stadium in Al Ram, just outside Jerusalem.
The match, a 0-0 draw, was the first time the senior Palestinian football side has been able to host a competitive game since 2011, and comes after a successful campaign against Israeli restrictions on sport inside the occupied Palestinian territories.
Due to a series of diplomatic victories at the sport’s world governing body Fifa, Israel was forced to both admit players from the UAE, a country with which it has no diplomatic ties. Palestinians from the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip were also allowed to travel to the West Bank.
The moves marked a dramatic shift in restrictive Israeli policies towards Palestinian sport. The change was the result of a battle against the Israeli Football Association carried out by the Palestinian Football Association, led by its president Jibril Rajoub.
The UAE team arrived in the West Bank from Jordan through the Allenby bridge border checkpoint.
Aside from Israel’s occupation, the match faced a further challenge from the weather, with Fifa unsure whether it would go ahead due to the sandstorm blowing across the Levant.
The fans however, were undeterred by the conditions, defiantly and cheerfully pressing into the packed 12,500 seater stadium, waving Palestinian flags and singing chants in support of their team.
“It’s important to be here and support the national team,” said Rein Momali, 16, of Beit Sahour near Bethlehem, who plays in the national under-17 women’s team. “You get the feeling of playing on their side, instead of watching the game on television,” she added enthusiastically.
An hour before kick-off, the atmosphere was already electric.
Thousands of people, including families with children, had already thronged into the stands waving the Palestinian flag and wearing the red shirts of the national team. “Falasteen, Falasteen,” ecstatic fans sang to the rhythm of numerous drums located in strategic points of the stadium. “Allah, Palestine, Al Quds (Jerusalem) is Arab!” the fans chanted several times across the stadium papered with posters of their President Mahmoud Abbas, Jibril Rajoub and Sepp Blatter, the head of Fifa. There were also posters of Emirati leaders and the ever present image of Yasser Arafat.
“It’s an incredible emotion to see our boys play on the field for such an important competition. It makes us proud to be Palestinian,” said 36-year-old Bahar Chanayem from Tulkarem, while sitting with friends and wearing a Palestinian national team jersey.
The result, a goalless draw, satisfied both teams in their qualifying campaign for the 2018 World Cup to be held in Russia, leaving the UAE top of the group. But it was the wider significance of the match that resonated with the fans. For Palestinians, the event was a cornerstone in their football history, that provided them with a political and moral victory against Israel and a chance to showcase their national sport at home.
“The important thing of today is the game itself,” said Azzam Al Ayyad, a jubilant fan, shortly after the match. “To show that Palestinian football exists and is alive.”
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