A youth organization in the Palestinian Aida refugee camp in Bethlehem, occupied West Bank, has refuted reports that Israel has suspended plans to destroy a nearby football pitch, claiming that it has not been given any formal notice to do so.
The Aida Youth Centre’s head, Munther Amira, stated on Wednesday that no formal document had been provided to confirm reports that Israel had responded to international pressure and had suspended the demolition order.
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Reports suggested that Israel had acted in response to international football associations FIFA and UEFA, which oversee the country’s football stadium, to prevent the planned demolition of the pitch, which is near Israel’s border with Bethlehem.
Amira stated that neither the court nor the Israeli government have provided any official confirmation of this information. These remain unconfirmed media reports with no official basis for Aida camp, the youth center, and the Aida sports team.
“Save the Pitch,” please.
In an effort to stop Israel from imposing the demolition order on the refugee camp’s only sporting facility, the Aida Youth Centre launched a global campaign called “Save the Pitch” in recent weeks.
The pitch’s manager, Amira, claimed uncertainty has plagued the area since November.
After storming the camp and placing the notice on the pitch’s main gate, Israeli occupation forces issued the first demolition order against the football pitch on November 3.
According to him, the first demolition order referenced “security concerns,” claiming that the pitch posed a threat because it was close to the camp’s illegal separation wall.
Amira said, “We’ve been living on edge since we’ve had to demolish the pitch, which represents hope for more than 250 camp children and young people,” repeatedly.
He added that Israel, which holds the leasehold to the pitch and issued a second demolition order on December 31 before the refugee camp’s Popular Committee for Services petitioned an Israeli court, decided to postpone the demolition until January 18.
Amira explained that the center was given an additional seven days to carry out the demolition themselves by the Israeli army.
Amira claimed that this would not occur because they told us to either destroy the pitch ourselves or to force us to do it.
A deal with the Bethlehem Municipality, according to Saeed al-Azzha, the head of Aida’s Popular Committee for Services, allowed the use of the land to construct a football field, a theater, and a public garden. Israel prevented the construction of the garden and the pitch, according to him, but the committee constructed both the pitch and the theater.
Al-Azzha emphasized that the pitch was constructed legally on leased land held by the Armenian Church.
Palestinian sport is being targeted.
The demolition order violates the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, which Israel has ratified, and prevents hundreds of children from exercising their right to play sports and develop in a safe and healthy environment, according to the Palestinian Football Association (PFA).
The PFA claimed that the decision is a result of what it called an Israeli-style Israeli policy that targets Palestinian sports, which has resulted in the total or partial destruction of almost 300 sports facilities.
The demolition order caused deep sadness in the AOD football team from the Aida Youth Centre.
Rimas Sarhan, 18, said, “I started my sporting life and playing football on this pitch.”
“I can’t believe that Israel has chosen to destroy it,” I said. Why is it asked? What danger does this pitch present?” she stated.
Mohammed Jadou, a 10-year-old, also has issues with the choice. During a training session, he said, “I don’t understand why the Israeli army wants to destroy the pitch.” We don’t hurt anyone, they say. Where will we play if they don’t demolish it, I hope?
There is still a lingering concern that Israel will be motivated to target more sports facilities in the occupied West Bank, where it has conducted nearly daily military raids for the past three years.
Anan Shehadeh, a journalist for Palestinian sport, told Al Jazeera that Israel has long seen Palestinian sport as a vehicle for political expression and national identity, able to show the world the Palestinian story.
He recalls that Israel had threatened to destroy it before the opening of Majed Asad Stadium on April 14, 2011, which was attended by Sepp Blatter, the then-President of FIFA.
He claimed that “at the time, international and legal efforts prevented that demolition.” However, Israeli threats now cover almost every sports facility in Palestine.
Shehadeh continued, “Israel targets the Palestinian sporting spirit when it targets sport.” It aims to “push young people into dangerous environments and stop them from serving as ambassadors for their country.”
Shehadeh claimed that Israel’s genocidal war on the Strip had also devastated the Palestinian sport industry in Gaza.
He claimed that the sports infrastructure in Gaza has been almost completely destroyed over the past two years, while that in the West Bank have been heavily targeted through arrests and checkpoints.
Shehadeh cited the Palestinian national football team’s impressive recent performances as evidence that “despite all these measures, Israel has not yet abandoned sport.”
appeals to international sports organizations
Israeli athletics have been suspended since the start of the war, activities have been cut to a minimum, and there has been a significant decline in performance across many sports and national teams, according to Nader al-Jayousi, the technical director of the Palestine Olympic Committee.
According to al-Jayousi, “We are seeing growing engagement among Palestinian athletes.” Stopping sport would mean destroying hope, according to the saying, “We must preserve hope and continue it.”
He added that Palestinian authorities have reached out to international sporting organizations, providing evidence of Israeli violations of Palestinian sport in the hands of FIFA and other international organizations.
Source: Aljazeera
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