Moroccan players celebrate win over Spain with Palestine flag

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The Moroccan national team on Tuesday celebrated its advance into the World Cup quarter-finals through its victory over Spain with the Palestinian flag, expressing solidarity with the Palestinian people.

The celebration of the win, gained by Morocco through a landslide victory in penalty kicks, garnered a lot of attention on social media, with thousands posting photos and videos of the players celebrating their historic win with the Palestinian flag.

#Moroccan players celebrated their huge win against #Spain with the #Palestinian flag, affirming their support for the Palestinian cause against the Israeli occupation.#Morocco #Palestine pic.twitter.com/k76kfS2SO2

— Al Mayadeen English (@MayadeenEnglish) December 6, 2022

This is not the first time the Moroccan national team celebrates its win by waving the Palestinian flag, as Center-Back Jawad el Yamiq was seen carrying the Palestinian flag and celebrating his team's win over the Canadian national team. The win qualified Morocco for the round of 16.

Moroccan player Jawad El Yamiq Waving Palestinian flag after Morocco qualify for the last 16 of the 2022 World Cup after beating Canada 2-1 in the decisive Group F match at Al Thumama Stadium, Doha, Qatar, Thursday. pic.twitter.com/l142uGX0uh

— The International Magazine (@TheIntlMagz) December 2, 2022

The Morrocan people, among various peoples from around the world, declared their support for Palestine on various occasions, with many football fans declaring their support of Palestine, or stating that "Israel does not exist" whenever they were approached by an Israeli reporter - had they not rejected to speak with the journalist altogether.

An Israeli reporter's excitement instantly wore out when an #England football fan shouted out "Free #Palestine!" upon interviewing him during the World Cup. pic.twitter.com/2ZT4nRQmGo

— Al Mayadeen English (@MayadeenEnglish) December 5, 2022

An Israeli KAN public broadcaster correspondent in Qatar complained about "unpleasant" incidents he was subjected to in Qatar during the channel's coverage of the FIFA World Cup championship being held in the country due to him being Israeli, a heavily opposed "nationality" in the region.

Another Israeli correspondent said he was bothered by the stances of the Arab fans attending the 2022 World Cup, saying that they would refuse to be interviewed by him due to his allegiance.

According to the correspondent, young Lebanese men were enraged when they found out that he was Israeli, saying: "I would also like to say that even off the air, whichever Arab fans we meet there with and introduce ourselves to, they reject talking to us altogether."

Since the World Cup kicked off, there have been various videos that went viral of Arab fans refusing to be interviewed by Israeli media.

Israeli Channel 12 correspondent, Ohad Hamo, expressed his frustration from the “maltreatment” of the Arab masses he came across in the Qatar 2022 World Cup. Arab people of all nations refused to be interviewed by him, an Israeli, during a live TV broadcast. 

"Everyone knows us, perhaps from the widespread Tik Tok videos. They come to us and criticize us being here," Hamo said in objection. "I don't know why," he cried out. 

Israeli Channel 12's reporter hinted that Israeli authorities are "concerned about what is happening with the Israelis in Qatar." In response, Channel 12's Nir Dvori backed the occupation’s request that Israelis conceal their "identity".

Occupation media also revealed that "the occupation authorities protested against the treatment of Israelis in Qatar."

Read next: Enmity ongoing, normalization fragile: Israeli media on Qatar WC