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Israel aims to kill a Palestinian football ‘revolution’ — along with its players

Felix NobesMarch 22, 2025

Balata beat Tulkarem in a memorial match for fallen martyrs. (Photo: Felix Nobes)

“American bullets murdered my boy. He was an innocent child who just wanted to play football,” Abdallah Kanaan said, barely able to contain his emotion.

His 14-year-old son, Muhammad, was shot dead by a sniper when the Israeli military invaded Tulkarem refugee camp in the West Bank on September 3 last year.

Kanaan, 58, told Mondoweiss that his son Muhammad was a highly rated footballer who was signed to one of the West Bank’s top professional clubs. Muhammad’s greatest dream was to play around the world with the Palestinian national team.

But the young defender, whose skull was shattered by the sniper’s bullet, never got his chance. He took his last breath in the arms of his wounded father in the street of a neighborhood reduced to rubble.

Kanaan sat in his dilapidated living room, adorned on all sides with photos and memorials of his son.

“Every day, I kiss his pictures,” Kanaan said. “I wish I could die and be with him — I lived for him.”

The three-day military siege that began in Tulkarem on September 1 last year saw invasions and drone strikes in the city’s two refugee camps, which continue to be relentlessly targeted by Israeli forces to this day.

The targeting of Tulkarem is part of a broader wide-ranging invasion of the northern West Bank, dubbed “Operation Iron Wall,” which has devastated neighborhoods and refugee camps in Jenin, Tulkarem, Tubas, Qabatiya, and other Palestinian towns. This onslaught has only intensified with the resumption of Israel’s bombardment of the Gaza Strip last week, killing 400 people in a single day following Israel’s abrogation of the fragile ceasefire that had been in effect since mid-January. Now, the assault has expanded to encompass other areas of the West Bank. 

Israel’s stated purpose of the operation is to root out resistance fighters in these refugee camps, but opponents say the real reason underlying the attack is Israel’s plans to precipitate mass expulsion and annex broad swathes of the West Bank.

But in addition to resistance fighters, the refugee camps are also known for producing footballers who go on to play for the West Bank’s biggest clubs.

“Israel has killed a generation of footballers who might have played for our national team,” the Palestine national team captain, Muhammad Rashid, told Mondoweiss.

Mondoweiss spoke with the defensive midfielder while on international duty. He and his teammates are seeking Palestine’s first-ever qualification for the FIFA World Cup.

During one of the darkest times in Palestine’s history, the Palestine national team has defied the odds and achieved unprecedented success. Israel killed at least 250 footballers during its brutal onslaught on Gaza after the October 7 attacks in 2023, with all competitive club football suspended in Palestine ever since — reversing decades of progress for the fledgling professional team. Despite this, the national team reached the knockout rounds of the Asian Cup and the third phase of World Cup qualification — both for the first time.

Also read: After Morocco, Palestinian footballers want to bring the World Cup home.

“We play for the footballers and the people in Gaza who have been martyred, or whose houses have been demolished. So it’s a completely different feeling,” Rashid added.

The combative midfielder, who grew up in Ramallah but now plays in Indonesia, did not hesitate to describe Israel’s destruction over the last 18 months as a genocide.

Rashid says Israel wants to erase his nation, its culture, and any happiness that Palestinians experience.

“And our sports,” he added. “It’s a sporticide, too.”

Rashid says that football in Palestine is “a way of life,” serving as the only break for Palestinian youth from the frustration and stress of the occupation.

The development of the women’s game has also been cut short in its germination stage. “It’s been 18 months — imagine all the talent that has been burned to the ground because no football is being played,” Rashid said.

The largest leagues in Palestine are in the West Bank, and most national team players graduate from the 12 professional clubs in the top division. There have been 12 martyred players in the territory and 17 have been arrested.

Rashid joined other leading voices who say Palestine competing in international tournaments is a powerful statement of resistance.

The image of Palestinian flags being flown during the Qatar World Cup in 2022 — acts of solidarity beamed to the television sets of millions around the globe — can never be tolerated by Israel and its allies, Dr. Sulaiman Amad told Mondoweiss.

Dr. Amad, who is president of the Palestine Football Association (PFA) in the northern West Bank, said Palestinians live in a “prison” with few parks or green spaces, and with hopelessly outdated stadiums and pitches.

Along with 64 sports grounds damaged or destroyed in Gaza, at least 21 stadiums in the West Bank and Jerusalem have been rendered unplayable over the last 15 months.

Dr Amad said the progress made since football became a professional sport in Palestine in 2010 has been undone.

Tulkarem’s martyrs

Muhammad was one of at least seven footballers from besieged Tulkarem who have been killed by Israel since October 7, 2023 — along with more than 200 other city residents.

He was a versatile, ball-playing defender signed with Balata Camp Football Club in Nablus, the only professional team in the West Bank representing a refugee camp.

Another promising footballer, 17-year-old Ahmad Faraj, was killed in a drone strike in January last year during a brutal invasion of Tulkarem refugee camp, which claimed the lives of eight other residents.

International referee Abdulqader Eid and scout Thaer Daraghmeh say both youth prospects had bright futures and were destined to play for the Palestinian national team.

A highly rated Markaz Tulkarem left-back, Ahmad Faraj is descended from footballing royalty. His brother Mahmoud played for Balata and has toured with the national team. His father, Tarek, and grandfather, Na’man, both played for Markaz Tulkarem before the sport went professional. Their past achievements are the stuff of legends among camp residents.

While Muhammad’s main passion other than football was his faith, Ahmad’s was resisting the occupation.

Despite his youth, his family was not secretive about his involvement with the resistance in Tulkarem.

These days, the camps are dominated by a group named the Tulkarem Brigade, comprising fighters from the armed wings of Fatah, the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, and Hamas.

Also read: The Tulkarem Brigade’s “men in the sun” resist in search of freedom.

The day he was martyred, Ahmad was shot in his thigh by the Israelis, and his wounds were treated by a nurse. Ten minutes after returning to the battlefield, he was struck by a drone.

“We went to the morgue but they didn’t want us to see him because his body was in a terrible state,” Tarek said. “When we pulled back the sheet, I saw his skull was empty.”

“I thank God, he gave us patience. I felt Ahmad would be martyred long before he was,” he added.

Tarek Faraj with his son’s shirt. (Photo: Felix Nobes)

Existence in the city’s two refugee camps, Nur Shams and Tulkarem — home to a densely packed population of more than 40,000 people — has been increasingly “unbearable” since the outbreak of war, Abdallah said.

The roads and buildings surrounding his home in the al-Hamam neighborhood wouldn’t look out of place in Gaza.

Abdallah Kanaan recalled his leg getting trapped in a manhole as he desperately tried to shield his son from sniper fire — and he was shot in the stomach as he did so.

Muhammad was the youngest of eight siblings and his father’s favorite. “They said they had killed a terrorist, but my son was only 14 years old,” Kanaan said. “We’re the terrorists? We would never kill a child, but these Zionists do.”

“All I wish is my foot never got stuck and I could have saved my son — and that the bullets went into my body, not his,” he said.

Kanaan told Mondoweiss how proud he was of his son’s talent and remembered being amazed he could pull off 180 kick-ups consecutively.

“People here watch the matches to feel less stressed and parents feel comfortable when our children play football together instead of getting involved in bad things,” he added.

Lifelong Tulkarem residents Mr. Eid and Mr. Daraghmeh say the young people suffering in the camps have a choice between football and resistance — or often, both. They say attaining a professional football contract is widely regarded as one of the only ways youngsters can provide a better life for their families and experience the world outside of Palestine.

“The young people can’t stand to see what’s happening and not do anything about it,” Mr. Daraghmeh said.

“During one of the invasions of the camp, the military entered the [Markaz Tulkarm] club headquarters and destroyed it. They broke all our trophies and destroyed everything,” he continued. “They know how important this place and the club are to the people of the camp.”

Soldiers damaged the club’s trophies. (Photo: Felix Nobes)

Palestine on the biggest stage

Rashid said the national team’s qualification for the 2026 World Cup in Canada, Mexico, and the United States would be a “reward for the patience of the Palestinian people.”

He added that, because of the team’s success in the last 18 months, club sides and players are being increasingly targeted and harassed by Israeli forces.

The national team, known as the Lions of Canaan, has been forced to play and train outside of Palestine for the last 18 months, but its players, many of whom are without a club, are still dreaming of defying the odds to qualify for the next World Cup.

But after a 3-1 loss to Jordan on Thursday, March 20, in Amman, Palestine’s chances of reaching the tournament look increasingly slim. The new 48-team World Cup format means more Asian teams are qualifying than ever before, and Palestine—bottom in their group—could still secure the fourth qualification spot with favorable results in their final games.

“It’s a story to tell our kids one day,” he added. “I’m really proud we’ve achieved these things in the worst condition I’ve ever seen my country in.

“We want the world to see that we have the right to play and nothing can kill our dreams and our passion.”

Following years of campaigning, the PFA was granted membership in FIFA, the sport’s global governing body, in 1998, allowing it to compete in international tournaments.

In the last few months, it has been mounting its legal case for the Israeli Football Association (IFA) to be expelled from FIFA’s upcoming competitions, including the 2026 World Cup, just as Russia was before the last tournament following its invasion of Ukraine.

The PFA is also pushing for sanctions against the IFA to be implemented. Despite repeated delays, a decision is expected in the coming months.

The Israeli national team continues playing matches and FIFA has so far ignored any demands for sanctions.

Balata on the brink

The 12 professional teams in the West Bank’s top league now face a desperate struggle to return to where they were before October 7.

With no competitive football for more than 18 months, players’ development has been stunted, teams are in financial turmoil, and club facilities are in disrepair.

Balata Camp Football Club chairman and former politician Jamal Tirawi has accused FIFA of condemning the club to bankruptcy.

With no income and the cost of paying for professional contracts — including expensive agreements with players from Jordan — the club now needs to raise more than $80,000 to safeguard its future, and it has intensified a last-ditch donation push to achieve this.

“FIFA has not helped out financially despite laws stating that, in the case of war halting a league season, teams will be given compensation — but, of course, it is only Palestinians who aren’t entitled to this,” Mr. Tirawi said.

With the club unable to pay salaries, at least seven of its first-team players have gone on to play for professional teams elsewhere in the Middle East and North Africa, including three who have also played for the national team.

Balata has 250 players on its books, including a women’s team, but Mr. Tirawi says it also provides facilities and a safe space for all 33,000 camp residents.

“The people are highly connected to the club and it will affect everyone, especially the refugees if we don’t survive,” he added.

Jamal Tirawi in his office at Balata Club. (Photo: Felix Nobes)

‘Unyielding spirit of Palestinian women’

Despite increasingly suffocating occupation and more than a year of war, the Palestinian women’s game has grown from its first five-a-side league in 2008 to competing internationally a little over a decade later.

Though take-up has been sluggish among some of Palestine’s male-dominated professional clubs, those barriers are quickly being broken.

Women’s team manager and ex-captain Dima Said, a pioneer of the sport who is also now its spokesperson and development lead, said the rise of the female game is testimony to “the unyielding spirit of Palestinian women.”

But the impact on women’s football since October 7 has been ‘particularly severe’ at its nascent stage of development, she added.

Ms. Said, the legend of Ramallah Club al-Bireh, said female players contend with occupation but, unlike men, must also overcome cultural barriers, making their participation a “profound statement of empowerment and resistance.”

Sitting in her office in the village of al-Ram in occupied East Jerusalem — overlooking the national team stadium and the separation wall — she was visibly aggrieved yet remarkably optimistic.

At the start of last November at al-Bireh’s stadium, the military fired tear gas and sound bombs during a training session for the women’s national team and youth side, sparking an evacuation over safety fears.

It marred recent successes after the team’s victories on their first European tour in May.

She paid tribute to those battling to keep the sport afloat as well as all those martyred in the last 15 months, particularly the “hundreds of players” who have lost family members or been displaced.

“This isn’t just a personal tragedy — it’s a collective struggle that affects players’ ability to train, compete, and even dream,” she said. “But the women and the men of our nation will never give up.”

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Felix Nobes
Felix Nobes is a journalist, writer, and political communications specialist based in the West Bank.