Israeli-Palestinian conflict catches up with Qatar World Cup

Palestinian women wave the Palestinian flag ahead of the FIFA World Cup in Doha, Qatar, Saturday, November 19, 2022. [AP photo]

Israelis have made themselves at home among Doha's glittering skyscrapers. Qatar's first kosher kitchen set up near the airport, supplying hotels and fan zones with the classic eggy Jewish challah bread and olive and hummus sandwiches. They plan to cook other food for the Jewish Sabbath that starts Friday at sundown, with all ingredients conforming to kosher dietary laws.

"We have received many, many questions and requests," said Rabbi Mendy Chitrik, who oversees the effort.

Israel's main channels have been allowed to broadcast from Doha, providing Israeli viewers with continuous coverage of the matches. But unlike other major foreign networks centrally located in downtown Doha, the Israelis roam around without a formal studio.

Shorrer said that while interactions with Qatari officials had been perfectly pleasant, the streets were a different story. He said he advises Israeli fans to hide their Jewish kippas and ditch their Stars of David so as not to provoke hostility. When a cellphone salesman noticed his friend's settings in Hebrew, he exploded with anger, screaming at the Israeli to get out of Doha.

"I was so excited to come in with an Israeli passport, thinking it was going to be something positive," he said. "It's sad, it's unpleasant. People were cursing and threatening us."

Palestinian fans from across the Arab world - including descendants of those who fled or were forced from their homes in the 1948 war over Israel's creation - traipsed through the streets of Doha this week draped in Palestinian flags. Some also sported Palestinian armbands.

A group of young Palestinians who live in Doha chanted, "Free Palestine!" while marching through Doha's historic Souq Waqif market on Sunday.

"We want everyone to know about the occupation and what people experience in Palestine so that more people support us," said 26-year-old marcher Sarah Shadid.

She laughed awkwardly when asked about the influx of Israeli fans.

"I'm a little bit upset," she said, adding she was sure their presence was not Qatar's choice. Doha mediates between Israel and the Hamas militant group and sends cash for the salaries of civil servants in the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip.

When FIFA announced the unprecedented direct flights from Ben Gurion International Airport in Tel Aviv to Doha, Qatari authorities promised the travel arrangement also would apply to Palestinians in both the occupied West Bank and Gaza, which has been under a crippling Israeli-Egyptian blockade for 15 years, ever since Hamas seized control there.

But five days into the tournament, it remained unclear how officials would carry out that premise.

A senior Israeli diplomat, Lior Haiat, said all Palestinian fans seeking to fly out of Israel's airport must get Israeli security approval to leave and return - an often-grueling and unpredictable process. "It takes a while," he acknowledged.

Imad Qaraqra, spokesman of the Palestinian General Authority for Civil Affairs, said he hadn't heard of any Palestinians requesting Israeli permission to leave from Ben Gurion. Palestinians from the West Bank traveled to Qatar this week from Jordan's airport, while Palestinians in Gaza exited into Egypt through the enclave's Rafah border crossing.

Palestinian fans who made the long journey said they felt their attendance at the world's biggest sporting event served a political purpose.

"I am here as a reminder that in 2022, our land is still occupied," said Moawya Maher, a 31-year-old businessman from Hebron, a particularly tense West Bank city. He was dancing at a concert at the FIFA Fan Festival, wearing a Palestinian flag as a cape. "I suppose it's a miserable situation. But I'm also proud."