Two Palestinian Players Shot By Israeli Military

[didierforever 7,349]

http://www.thenation.com/blog/178642/after-latest-incident-israels-future-fifa-uncertain

Their names are Jawhar Nasser Jawhar, 19, and Adam Abd al-Raouf Halabiya, 17. They were once soccer players in the West Bank. Now they are never going to play sports again. Jawhar and Adam were on their way home from a training session in the Faisal al-Husseini Stadium on January 31 when Israeli forces fired upon them as they approached a checkpoint. After being shot repeatedly, they were mauled by checkpoint dogs and then beaten. Ten bullets were put into Jawhars feet. Adam took one bullet in each foot. After being transferred from a hospital in Ramallah to King Hussein Medical Center in Amman, they received the news that soccer would no longer be a part of their futures. (Israels border patrol maintains that the two young men were about to throw a bomb.)This is only the latest instance of the targeting of Palestinian soccer players by the Israeli army and security forces. Death, injury or imprisonment has been a reality for several members of the Palestinian national team over the last five years. Just imagine if members of Spains top-flight World Cup team had been jailed, shot or killed by another country and imagine the international media outrage that would ensue. Imagine if prospective youth players for Brazil were shot in the feet by the military of another nation. But, tragically, these events along the checkpoints have received little attention on the sports page or beyond.Much has been written about the psychological effect this kind of targeting has on the occupied territories. Sports represent escape, joy and community, and the Palestinian national soccer team, for a people without a recognized nation, is a source of tremendous pride. To attack the players is to attack the hope that the national team will ever truly have a home.The Palestinian national football team, which formed in 1998, is currently ranked 144th in the world by the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA). They have never been higher than 115th. As Chairman of the Palestinian Football Association Jibril al-Rajoub commented bluntly, the problems are rooted in the occupations insistence on destroying Palestinian sport.Over the last year, in response to this systematic targeting of Palestinian soccer, al-Rajoub has attempted to assemble forces to give Israel the ultimate sanction and, as he said, demand the expulsion of Israel from FIFA and the International Olympic Committee. Al-Rajoub claims the support of Jordan, Qatar, Iran, Oman, Algiers and Tunisia in favor of this move, and promises more countries, with an opportunity at a regional March 14 meeting of Arab states, to organize more support. He has also pledged to make the resolution formal when all the member nations of FIFA meet in Brazil.Qatars place in this, as host of the 2022 World Cup, deserves particular scrutiny. As the first Arab state to host the tournament, they are under fire for the hundreds of construction deaths of Nepalese workers occurring on their watch. As the volume on these concerns rises, Qatar needs all the support in FIFA that they can assemble. Whether they eventually see the path to that support as one that involves confronting or accommodating Israel, will be fascinating to see.Please support our journalism. Get a digital subscription for just $9.50!As for Sepp Blatter, he clearly recognizes that there is a problem in the treatment of Palestinian athletes by the Israeli state. Over the last year, he has sought to mediate this issue by convening a committee of Israeli and Palestinian authorities to see if they can come to some kind of agreement about easing the checkpoints and restrictions that keep Palestinian athletes from leaving (and trainers, consultants and coaches from entering) the West Bank and Gaza. Yet al-Rajoub sees no progress. As he said, This is the way the Israelis are behaving and I see no sign that they have recharged their mental batteries. There is no change on the ground. We are a full FIFA member and have the same rights as all other members.The shooting into the feet of Jawhar and Adam has taken a delicate situation and made it an impossible one. Sporting institutions like FIFA and the IOC are always wary about drawing lines in the sand when it comes to the conduct of member nations. But the deliberate targeting of players is seen, even in the corridors of power, as impossible to ignore. As long as Israel subjects Palestinian athletes to detention and violence, their seat at the table of international sports will be never be short of precarious.

What a horrendous act!!!!

[Beirut_Blues 306]

sad...but this issue is more than just about football..and i prefer not to discuss these issues on this forum

[Fernando 6,488]

I'm more then interested in this:

(Israels border patrol maintains that the two young men were about to throw a bomb)

Is such thing true?

[TacticalBlues 2,817]

R.I.P.

I'm more then interested in this:

(Israels border patrol maintains that the two young men were about to throw a bomb)

Is such thing true?

BS. 'About to throw a bomb'? Nonsense. Also according to that report after being shot they were mauled by checkpoint dogs. Sounds more like a couple of repugnant Israeli's looking to spread hate.

[Fernando 6,488]

R.I.P.

BS. 'About to throw a bomb'? Nonsense. Also according to that report after being shot they were mauled by checkpoint dogs. Sounds more like a couple of repugnant Israeli's looking to continue to spread hate.

Well we don't know what is the real story.

If indeed they where going to throw a bomb then the soldiers had a right to defend themselves.

But if it wasn't true then those soldiers should be jailed.

At the end the truth is what matter here, did or did not those young men were about to throw a bomb?

[We Hate Scouse 10,286]

Well we don't know what is the real story.

If indeed they where going to throw a bomb then the soldiers had a right to defend themselves.

But if it wasn't true then those soldiers should be jailed.

At the end the truth is what matter here, did or did not those young men were about to throw a bomb?

Impossible to prove really

[CHOULO19 24,332]

Well we don't know what is the real story.

If indeed they where going to throw a bomb then the soldiers had a right to defend themselves.

But if it wasn't true then those soldiers should be jailed.

At the end the truth is what matter here, did or did not those young men were about to throw a bomb?

That would be the case in most of the situations, but not in the Palestinian-Israeli struggle. The two football players being about to throw a bomb, is very unlikely, but it is completely irrelevant. The Israeli forces have never needed any cause to shoot Palestinians. Similarly, and for example, a soldier in the Lebanese army shot an Israeli soldier who was just passing by the border a couple of months ago. Thousands and thousands of unarmed civilians, mostly from the side of the Arabs, have already been killed in the ongoing conflict.

So while this incident is sad, it is by no means shocking or any different from similar incidents that occur on a daily basis.

[bushman 2,043]

I bet, those two players were scoring plenty of goals. So, someone shut them. lol.

[Liquidator 5,176]

Oh for fucks sake Bushman is that really called for?

Tragic that stuff like this still goes on.

[bushman 2,043]

Oh for fucks sake Bushman is that really called for?

Tragic that stuff like this still goes on.

Tragic stuff goes on daily. The current situation in Ukraine, is the latest.

[jasonlol 154]

this story ended up being a complete lie. see here http://elderofziyon.blogspot.co.il/2014/03/the-lies-about-palestinian-footballers.html other news sources have confirmed as well. Is there anything the anti jew crowd here on tc won't make up to try and delegitmize the only moral state in the middle east? asking for a friend..

[haranr 485]

If the story is true. Why were they shot?

That would be the case in most of the situations, but not in the Palestinian-Israeli struggle. The two football players being about to throw a bomb, is very unlikely, but it is completely irrelevant. The Israeli forces have never needed any cause to shoot Palestinians. Similarly, and for example, a soldier in the Lebanese army shot an Israeli soldier who was just passing by the border a couple of months ago. Thousands and thousands of unarmed civilians, mostly from the side of the Arabs, have already been killed in the ongoing conflict.

So while this incident is sad, it is by no means shocking or any different from similar incidents that occur on a daily basis.

That is simply not true...

[haranr 485]

R.I.P.

BS. 'About to throw a bomb'? Nonsense. Also according to that report after being shot they were mauled by checkpoint dogs. Sounds more like a couple of repugnant Israeli's looking to spread hate.

How do you fucking know?!?!

[CHOULO19 24,332]

That is simply not true...

Yeah, of course not...

That is the child, Mohammad Al Durrah, being shot dead in his fathers lap. They didn't kill the father, just aimed at the child's head.

I don't want a debate, but do you think your media will tell you when Palestinians are shot for no reason? I don't even want an answer for that question, I just want you to think about it.

[haranr 485]

Yeah, of course not...

That is the child, Mohammad Al Durrah, being shot dead in his fathers lap. They didn't kill the father, just aimed at the child's head.

I don't want a debate, but do you think your media will tell you when Palestinians are shot for no reason? I don't even want an answer for that question, I just want you to think about it.

Man you have to be more specific. When this happened? Why were they shooting?

[haranr 485]

Man you have to be more specific. When this happened? Why were they shooting?

You have to understand that Israeli soldiers would not aim purposely to a child's head. Those 2 got into a firefight. Accident.

[jasonlol 154]

Yeah, of course not...

That is the child, Mohammad Al Durrah, being shot dead in his fathers lap. They didn't kill the father, just aimed at the child's head.

I don't want a debate, but do you think your media will tell you when Palestinians are shot for no reason? I don't even want an answer for that question, I just want you to think about it.

this was also proven to be a lie. this is one of many such claims that this is false.

http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/169402#.Uyc1FUDa58E

even if it were true it was during a an exchange between security forces and terriosts(you can't expect accidents to never happen).

[CHOULO19 24,332]

Man you have to be more specific. When this happened? Why were they shooting?

Really? You're not familiar with that video?! Wow! That is one of the most famous videos in history. It happened live on television. That video was one of the main factors that sparked the second intifada in 2000. I'm absolutely stunned that you've never seen this!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muhammad_al-Durrah_incident

http://www.aljazeera.com/photo_galleries/middleeast/2010103132115872256.html