BETHLEHEM, Occupied West Bank – The youth center in the Palestinian Aida refugee camp denies reports that Israel has canceled plans to demolish a local soccer field, saying it has not received any official notification to that effect.
Munter Amira, director of the Aida Youth Center, said on Wednesday that the center had not been provided with official documents to support reports in some Israeli media claiming that Israel suspended the demolition order in response to international pressure.
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Reports suggest that Israel acted under pressure from FIFA and European football governing body UEFA to block plans to demolish the pitch, which is located near the Israeli separation wall north of Bethlehem.
“Our lawyers have not received any official response from the court or the Israeli authorities confirming this information,” Amira said. “For Aida Camp, Youth Center and Aida Sports Team, these remain unconfirmed media reports with no official basis.”
“Save Pitch”
In recent weeks, the Aida Youth Center has launched an international campaign called “Save the Pitch” to prevent Israel from carrying out its order for the destruction of the refugee camp’s soccer pitch (the only sports facility).
Amira, who manages the pitch, told Al Jazeera that uncertainty has plagued the community since November.
“Israeli occupation forces issued the first demolition order for the soccer field on November 3 after storming the camp and posting a notice at the main gate of the pitch,” Amira said.
He added that the initial demolition order cited “safety concerns” and claimed the pitch’s proximity to an illegal separation wall adjacent to the camp posed a threat.
“We are living under stress following the successive demolition orders targeting the pitches. This is a symbol of hope for the more than 250 children and young people in the camp,” Amira said.
He added that Israel issued a second demolition order on December 31, before the Refugee Camp’s People’s Service Committee, which holds the lease on the pitch, filed a complaint with an Israeli court, resulting in a decision to postpone the demolition until January 18.
Amira explained that the Israeli military had given the center an additional seven days to carry out the demolition on its own.
“They said either we destroy the pitch ourselves or they destroy it and force us to pay for it,” Amira said that would not happen.
Said al-Azza, chairman of the Aida People’s Service Committee, said the agreement with the city of Bethlehem allowed the use of the land for the construction of a soccer field, theater and public garden. “The committee built the pitch and the theater, but Israel blocked the construction of the garden and repeatedly issued demolition orders for the pitch,” he said.
Al-Azza stressed that the pitch was legally built on leased land owned by the Armenian Church.
Targeting Palestinian sports
The Palestinian Football Association (PFA) said the removal order violates the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, which Israel has ratified, and deprives hundreds of children of their right to play sports and grow up in a safe and healthy environment.
The PFA said the decision was part of a systematic Israeli policy targeting Palestinian sports, which resulted in the killing of hundreds of Palestinian athletes and the destruction, in whole or in part, of around 300 sports facilities.
Players of the AOD soccer team at the Aida Youth Center expressed deep sadness over the demolition order.
“I started my sporting life on this pitch and played soccer,” said Rimas Sarhan, 18, during training at the Aida Youth Center.
“I can’t believe there is a decision by Israel to destroy it. The question is why? What danger does this pitch pose?” she said.
Ten-year-old Mohamed Jadu is also struggling with the decision. “I don’t understand why the Israeli army would want to destroy the pitch,” he said during a training operation. “We’re not hurting anyone. I hope they don’t destroy it, but if they do, where will we play?”
There are lingering fears that if Israel can destroy the pitches, it could lead to attacks on more sports facilities across the occupied West Bank. Israel has carried out military raids in the West Bank almost every day for the past three years.
Palestinian sports journalist Anan Shehadeh told Al Jazeera that Israel has long viewed Palestinian sports as a space for national identity and political expression, and as something that can tell the Palestinian story to the world.
He recalled that before the opening of the Majed Assad Stadium in El Bile, near Ramallah, on April 14, 2011, with then-FIFA President Sepp Blatter also present, Israel had threatened to destroy the stadium.
“At that time, international and legal efforts prevented the demolition,” he said. “Today, however, the Israeli threat extends to almost all sports facilities in Palestine.”
“When Israel targets sports, it targets the Palestinian sporting spirit,” Shehadeh added. “We are pushing young people into toxic spaces and trying to prevent them from becoming ambassadors for our country.”
Shehadeh said the Palestinian sports sector has also been devastated in the Gaza Strip as a result of Israel’s genocidal war there.
“In the past two years, sports infrastructure in Gaza has been almost completely destroyed, while in the West Bank it has been heavily targeted by checks and arrests,” he said.
Shehadeh pointed to the recent good results of the Palestinian national soccer team, adding: “Despite all these measures, Israel has not failed to eliminate sports.”
Appeal to international sports organizations
Nader al-Jayoushi, technical director of the Palestinian Olympic Committee, told Al Jazeera that Israeli practices have had a direct impact on Palestinian sports, with leagues suspended and activities reduced to a minimum since the start of the war, and performance in many sports and national teams plummeting.
“But we are seeing increasing involvement from Palestinian athletes,” Al-Jayoushi said. “We have to keep hope and keep playing sports, because quitting sports means killing hope.”
He added that the Palestinian Authority has contacted international sports organizations and provided FIFA and other international federations with documented evidence of Israeli violations against Palestinian sports.
“Unfortunately, so far there are no concrete measures or effective sanctions for these violations,” Al-Jayoushi added. “We want the international sports community to hold Israel accountable and stop targeting Palestinian athletes, sports facilities and the sport itself.”
