Palestinians watch a live projection of the Euro 2008 European Soccer Championships final between Germany and Spain on a section of Israel's separation barrier in the West Bank refugee camp of Aida, near Bethlehem, Sunday, June 29, 2008.(AP Photo/Muhammed Muheisen)
[Tarboush Tip: Shashabone]
Showing posts with label sports. Show all posts
Showing posts with label sports. Show all posts
Sunday, June 29, 2008
Resistance Art, Pt ...
Friday, March 28, 2008
March Madness Predictions
Not that anyone cares, but here are my predictions for tonight's NCAA Men's basketball games.
I predict that:
Wisconsin falls to Davidson (just as a "fuck you" to Fayyad).
Michigan State beats Memphis. The second biggest upset.
Villanova almost beats Kansas.
Texas downs Stanford handily.
More generally, I predict my pre-tourney bracket finishes in the middle of my online group, which is made up mostly of activists too busy to even watch any of the games.
I also predict that KABOB3rs regular Programmer Craig loses 42 consecutive solitaire games as he waits for the next KABOBfest post.
Sunday, January 27, 2008
Egyptian Midfielder Dons Gaza Solidarity in Africa Cup
This was first posted by Um Kahlil. Egyptian Midfielder Mohamed Aboutrika reveals the slogan "Sympathize with Gaza" after scoring in Egypt's 3-0 win over Sudan in the African National Cup. The display of solidarity resulted in a yellow card on Saturday.
Monday, January 14, 2008
Muslim Tennis Players Do Exist
As the tennis season begins again, I wanted to share with you some of the amazing but little-noted accomplishments of Arab/Muslim tennis players, many of which occurred in 2007. Watch them all this week at the Australian Open, the year's first Grand Slam.
WOMEN
SANIA MIRZA (India, current ranking: 31st, highest ever: 27):
With wins over many top ten players including Martina Hingis and Svetlana Kuznetsova, this 5'7'' fireball of woman has shown the world flashes of brilliance that some say will land her in the top ten. Armed with a lethal forehand, 21 year-old Sania plays with a very high-risk style that generates stunning winners but also cringe-inducing unforced errors. She has a fiery spirit on the court full of fist pumps and shouts, the mark of a winner. In 2006, she won the newcomer of the year award, the first Indian or Muslim woman to reach the world's top 40. Infamously, there was a fatwa declared on her (for wearing indecent clothing) shortly after rising to fame with a victory at the Hyderabad tourney in 2005. Here she is at Hajj with her mother in Saudi Arabia.
TAMIRA PASZEK (Austria, current ranking: 41st, highest ever: 35):
It gives me special pride as a half-Austrian to present 16 year-old Tamira Paszek. Like much of the new generation in Europe, she's an ethnic cocktail: her father and coach , Ariff Mohammed, is of Indian descent, was born in Tanzania, and raised in Kenya, her mother, Francoise Paszek, was born in Chile and raised in Austria. This girl is only 5'5'' but has a stocky build and is totally fearless on the court, not to be dominated by more seasoned players a half-foot taller. In this her first year on the tour, she reached the round of 16 at Wimbledon and the US Open, taking out three top-20 players. She has a reputation for coming back from way
down in matches to win them in three epic sets. She won her first title in 2006, barely 15 years old. She just got to the semifinals of a tournament in New Zealand, where she gave Lindsay Davenport a tough contest. In the photo above, she's wearing a daring dress and popping right out of it!
down in matches to win them in three epic sets. She won her first title in 2006, barely 15 years old. She just got to the semifinals of a tournament in New Zealand, where she gave Lindsay Davenport a tough contest. In the photo above, she's wearing a daring dress and popping right out of it!ARAVANE REZAI (France, current ranking: 90th, highest ever: 40):
Of Iranian descent, this 20 year-old will probably become one of the most dangerous players on tour in the future. Her father Arsalan, a former auto mechanic, is reported to be a very hot-tempered coach and was once fined by the French tennis federation for verbal abuse 
of another player. Of course, one must take this information with a grain of salt, as any Muslim man who makes decisions for a Muslim woman (be they professional or otherwise) will come in for great criticism. She used to be the ball-girl for her brother, also a tennis player, but quickly eclipsed him in ability and fame! She has twice won the Muslim Women's Games, and this year exploded onto the scene at the Istanbul tournament, beating former number ones Maria Sharapova and Venus Williams in succession. She plans to become an astrophysicist when her tennis career comes to an end.YOUNES EL AYNOAUI, HICHAM ARAZI, AND KARIM ALAMI formed the Moroccan triumvirate that briefly lifted Arab tennis out of its usual futility, in the late 90's and early this century. Together, they won eight titles (Fadi, there ARE Arabs who win tennis titles, not just Federer in Arab drag). There seems to be no obvious inheritor of this legacy in the current crop of Muslim youngsters, which means that the focus of future hopes is now on the women.
MEN
YOUNES EL AYNAOUI (Morocco,current ranking: 180th, highest ever: 14)
This incredible showman was born way back in 71 and is still playing at the age of 36, amazingly, even though he's now a family man with a french wife and three sons with strange names: Ewen, Neil, and Noam ("Neil El Aynaoui, pleased to meet you"). A real giant for an Arab at 6'4'', he was somewhat of a late bloomer and won most of his titles in the twilight of his career. In 2002, when he won titles in Doha and Casablanca, he caused spontaneous celebrations in the streets and reinvigorated Arab pride in tennis. Overall he's won five titles, and reached 11 finals. He's probably best known for a nail-biter five-set loss to Andy Roddick in the Australian Open where he had previously defeated No. 1 Hewitt in four sets before losing to Roddick 21-19 in a five-hour marathon (longest fifth set in Grand Slam history). In a 2003 poll by leading Moroccan economic daily, "L'Economiste," he came in first as a role model for society. He has also been endowed with highest possible decoration from the King of Morocco.
HICHAM ARAZI (Morocco, current ranking: 794, highest ever: 22)
If you remember the legendary and colorful tennis commentator Bud Collins (who used to moderate Breakfast at Wimbledon), Arazi was always one of his favourite players. Collins lauded his incredible artistry and shot-making ability, pulling audacious and improbable shots out of nowhere with the deftest of touches. Even if it meant losing matches for taking such huge risks. He used to wear his straight hair very long and looked like something of a tennis pirate. He also electrified Casablanca by winning the title there in 97. Like El Aynaoui, he was a formidable Davis Cup player (the tournament where nations play one another), and once beat both Tim Henman and Greg Rusedski in the same playoff, that victory over the UK lifting Morocco into the World Group competition.
KARIM ALAMI (Morocco, current ranking: N/A, highest ever: 25)
I was in Egypt recently baking in the heat and watching rainy Wimbledon on the Al Jazeera sports channel, when I saw that this guy was doing the commentary. The guys at Al Jazeera headquarters kept referring to him as "Captain Karim". "Captain Karim, what do you think about this, about that, does player X have the Y to beat player Z considering that T in enough time to do V?" And then Captain Karim would answer like it was a perfectly reasonable question. He's definitely a looker and acts like he knows it: he never hesitates to take his shirt off and once bleached his hair blond. He became the first Moroccan to win an ATP title at Atlanta in 1996, and has won two titles overall.
JEWISH-MUSLIM DOUBLES TEAMS
It has happened quite a lot that Israeli players have teamed with Muslim players and achieved some successes while also garnering the obvious media attention. It's always of this variety: "Against all odds and against many of their compatriots' wishes, these human beings from opposite sides of the tracks have formed an unlikely partnership that is a lesson in morality for all of us..."
India's Sania Mirza partnered with Israel's Shahar Peer and even won tournaments together, while Israel's Andy Ram and Pakistan's Aisam El-Haq won a few rounds at Wimbledon one year and were the 'heartwarming' story of that championship. People reportedly cried watching them play.
And of course I'm forgetting to mention some notable players, past and present, like the amazing Marcos Baghdatis (I wasn't sure of his ancestry other than that he has a Lebanese dad, or a Greek dad born in Lebanon?)... please mention them if you want.
Tuesday, January 08, 2008
Palestinian Solidarity Versus Big Ten Rivalry
Even though I'm a U of M alum, I never harbored any deep resentment towards Ohio State University... despite the long-time rivalry. I even rooted for OSU yesterday against LSU, which is probably why they lost.
I did want to give much respect to OSU back-up Tackle, Nader Abdallah. Nader was the centerpiece of a great AP article on his return to his hometown, New Orleans. Nader describes what his family lost, and their own origins in Palestinian refugee camps. He said, "I'm trying to represent for Palestine, New Orleans, my family... everybody."
This article, besides showing an alternative model to Arab-owned inner city liquor stores -- his family's store carried food, butcher meat, and "everything" -- it sheds light into an under-told story, that of immigrants hit by Katrina.
His family had to move to Columbus, away from their immediate home, the city of his youth, and away from their ancestral home. They are twice displaced.
Wednesday, January 02, 2008
Homoeroticism and Football
I will probably lose my U.S. citizenship for writing this, but a "behind the scenes" account of the last two days of University of Michigan football coach Lloyd Carr's career, which included a stunning bowl game victory against the University of Florida Gators, is a fantastic, but indirect, testimony to the sexual undertones of American football. Though gay-bashing and football can often seem like equally violent, distant cousins and American pastimes, this account offers a glimpse of the inherent homo-eroticism of the game.
Not only is Coach Carr's farewell an emotional one, but is laden with "I love you" remarks to his players and assistants; one defensive coach talks about the "energy" in the room, an assuredly fraternal one. In post-game locker room celebrations, the players chant, "Lloyd, take off your coat! Lloyd, get naked!" (to the tune of the classic "Hoes take off your clothes! Hoes, get naked!").
There are other signs beyond those in the AP piece mentioned above. The ever-present congratulatory butt-patting on the sidelines, and pile-up groin-grabbing, must be mentioned, as should the fact that these are grown men wearing tights and flamboyant, often rainbow-colored uniforms. Locker room, group showering, yeah, and the sometimes sexually abusive hazing rituals involving nudity, are kind of gay. Let's not mention the emotional performativity of touchdown celebrations, some of which would be the envy of Broadway's finest thespians.
The quasi-warrior culture and strict top-down discipline of it -- with its ardent rules of conduct and dress -- resembles ancient Greek warrior civilizations, in which man-boy love was acceptable and often part of the rites of passage into manhood.
Discussions of such nuanced homoeroticism are almost impossible in this cultural climate however. Consideration of anything gay is loaded with prejudice and simplistic reduction in public discourse. In reality however, there is more to America than a demarcation between straight and gay cultures -- a description defined more by stereotypes than by an understanding of the shades of life.
Thus, American cultural institutions, such as sports, can teem with a form of eroticism unrecognized as such by the black-and-white holy book-thumping crowd, thus giving its facade as a "straight" pastime -- and at the same time, homophobia -- cultural sanctioning. This amounts to denial, on the one hand, since it seems to assume the acts of hitting, blocking, and "scoring" are purely masculine endeavors. However, hyper-masculinity, as within warrior cultures' practices, need not always mean "straight." Male gayness, despite the stereotype, need not mean "femanine" or "weak."
This explains the explosive chatter that erupts when a professional athlete, such as Esera Tuaolo, dares leave the closet. The torture of such an experience begins with the rampant homophobia in the locker room. Tuaolo told HBO of the names he heard as a player, "faggot... queer... fudge-packer." At the same time, many players were supportive or indifferent, perspectives fans and pundits should emulate.
Homophobia and homoeroticism may be two sides of the same coin. In psychoanalytical theory, "homophobia --the fear, anxiety, anger, discomfort and aversion that some ostensibly heterosexual people hold for gay individuals -- is the result of repressed homosexual urges that the person is either unaware of or denies." There are interesting studies that may demonstrate this. Out of such repression comes denial and the controversy of "out" players.
The key to overcoming homophobia lies in embracing and understanding the inherent homoeroticism of such "sacred" cultural practices as football. So what if the sport's macho fraternity, culture of celebration, locker room antics, and hero worship inherent to fandom is a little gay? That's okay. By recognizing and embracing this, we may pave the path to a more tolerant society.
Saturday, October 13, 2007
Saturday, September 08, 2007
Darko Milicic: Honorary Arab of the Month
As my friend Adam lamented, the Detroit Pistons could have Carmelo right now (and two more championships). Instead of Anthony, they took a young Serbian player named Darko Milicic as the 2nd pick in the 2003 NBA draft. In his 2.5 seasons with the Pistons, he earned the nickname, "The Human Victory Cigar" referring to the fact he only played in games when a Pistons victory appeared imminent. He recently left the Orlando Magic and signed with the Memphis Grizzlies.
But none of this is why he's winning the esteemed title of KABOBfest's Honorary Arab of the Month.
In the European basketball championships last weekend, Greece beat Serbia, Darko's team, by a hair. Darko wasn't too pleased with the officiating, and the Greek players' overuse of cologne, so he went on a "profanity-laced tirade at referees" after the game.
He was fined nearly $14,000 by FIBA, the sport's international governing body. The Grizzlies publicly reprimanded him. I'm not sure how bothered he was to be scolded by a team that sounds like a hairy Gay men's dance club.
I can't confirm it, but this might be his rant on YouTube.
To understand why he's an honorary Arab, you have to consider not how he said it, but what he said. I had KABOBfest Linguistics Expert Chaim Sugarman track down a translation of Darko's crazy and beautiful outburst. Sugarman, who knows a little Serbian because "he dated one in high school," found this one.
Reporter: Darko, first impressions?I heard he then asked God to destroy the referees' houses and damn their fathers.
Darko: All right, but let's do it over there.
Reporter: Darko Milicic, congratulations despite the loss. First impressions?
Darko: Nothing, these three big [expletive]heads, these two ... three
[expletive for lady parts] have cheated us, that's what happened. This
[expletive for lady part], these three [expletive]heads think they are
something. I will go and [expletive] their mothers' [expletive for
lady parts]--all three of them, that's what I'm gonna [inaudible] ...
[expletive for lady parts] all three of them, I'm gonna [expletive]
his Italian mother in her [expletive for lady parts], man, that's what
I want to say...
Reporter: Darko, calm down a little bit. Your impressions of the game?
Darko: He's a [expletive]head, he should [expletive] my [expletive
for man parts], go on ... write that, man ... all three of them, the
first one and the second one and the third one ... I don't give a
[expletive] about this, that's what I want to say.
Reporter: [inaudible]
Darko: [Expletive for lady parts] ... they don't call anything...he
[expletive] in his pants ... I will [expletive] his mother in the
mouth, man ... if he has a daughter, I will also [expletive] his
daughter.
Reporter: [inaudible]
Darko: [inaudible] ... we are fighting here, I died ... I need an
infusion, do you understand...and they cheat us like [expletive for
waste]...
Darko gets Honorary Arab of the Month for his very Arab-like insults. Yes, I know going for the mothers and sisters is pretty universal as an insult, but Darko expressed it very poetically, with lots of imagery and cursing... just as an Arab would do it.
Ha ha... I just realized the translation said "lady parts" and "man parts." It would be funnier if that was a literal translation: "I'm going to put my man parts in his mother's lady parts." But then he'd lose the Honorary Arab of the Month title.
On another Honorary Arab note, I found this photo using a new internets search engine I discovered called Google(what a name!). There are two ways to rationalize this:
1) Like a true Honorary Arab, Milicic eyes down the President while dressed in all black (the Arab clubbing uniform).
2) There are those pathetic Arab businessman who dream about having a picture with the President. Sadly, even this one. Darko lived their dream, even if he looked pissed.
Congrats Darko! This recognition KABOBfest is bestowing on you is a true honor.
Saturday, September 01, 2007
In Memoriam: Michigan Football
Our deepest sympathies and most sincere condolences to Will and Fadi, after the Maize and Blue was destroyed at home by a division 2 team in the season opener.
Thursday, August 23, 2007
One Pali Who Can Kick Your Ass
The Institute for Middle East Understanding features Palestinians who have accomplished something noteworthy in life. They pick up some interesting stories, but they miss others. For instance, KABOBer Nadeem's record of 4,326 indecent exposure and public nuisance citations has to be considered exceptional.
In the latest profile, they feature Ahmed Abukhater, a doctoral candidate in Community and Regional Planning at the University of Texas in Austin (down with the Longhorns). The Gaza-born scholar is a world-class weight-lifter. According to IMEU:
In 2006, Palestinian-born Abukhater broke new ground as the first power lifter to represent Palestine in the World Association of Benchers and Deadlifters (WABDL) World Championship. Lifting 407 pounds, he placed fifth in the world and set a new Palestinian national record.
"When I talk to people in Gaza today, they can't fathom that I'm a PhD candidate and a competitive power lifter," says Abukhater. "In Palestine, sports are not our first priority because of the daily struggle and limited resources. But we shouldn't let this hinder our spirit to compete and ability to represent Palestine in a positive way," he adds.
Right on, brother. His academic focus is on water, an important resource in the Middle East, and one Israel keeps tight control over.
Brain and Brawn! Despite his achievements, as my aunts would note, he is worth nothing if he's not married yet. Speaking of which, I bet the Palestinian mommies are going to search for him on Arab Lounge now.
Brain and Brawn! Despite his achievements, as my aunts would note, he is worth nothing if he's not married yet. Speaking of which, I bet the Palestinian mommies are going to search for him on Arab Lounge now.
[tarboush tip: IMEU]
Saturday, August 18, 2007
Today In History
1964: South Africa banned from Olympics
And more than four decades later, the IOC stands in far lower moral grounds: It seems uncritical of next years host's, China, human rights record, and continues to allow an apartheid regime, Israel, to partake in the games. Humans lack of perspective and inability to learn from history is mind-boggling.
South Africa has been barred from taking part in the 18th Olympic Games in Tokyo over its refusal to condemn apartheid.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) announced the decision in Lausanne, Switzerland, after South Africa failed to meet an ultimatum to comply with its demands by 16 August.
The IOC originally withdrew South Africa's invitation to Japan during the winter games in Innsbruck, Austria.
It said the decision could be overturned only if South Africa renounced racial discrimination in sport and opposed the ban in its own country on competition between white and black athletes.
Read more at BBC.com
Thursday, August 09, 2007
Jeb El Kas- Bring The Cup
A new song celebrating Iraq’s national football team recent victory in the Asian Cup Finals; the “Lions of Mesopotamia” include Sunni, Shia, Kurd, and Christian players.
The opening lines translate to:
Did you see the player in the field playing with one hand on his wounds.
He's a player for the Iraqi who, from despair, brought joy.
The team you see is a symbol of our people’s unity.
Names don’t divide us because Iraq is in our heart.
[Tarboush tip: Dania]
Monday, July 30, 2007
CONGRATULATIONS IRAQ! (Plus: KABOBers too hungover to cover Asian Cup final)
We will have to provide you with secondary coverage of Iraq's stunning 1-nil defeat of Saudi Arabia until further notice.
- IRAQ: I hope Bush doesn't take credit for this one again
- SAUDI ARABIA: It was the dark-color uniforms' fault because we had to dress for the match in traditional green jerseys as opposed to the white ones we wore while winning matches on the way to the final...
- U.S. DEFENSE DEPARTMENT TO SAUDI ARABIA: Crying into your $20 billion weapons will make them rust
- YOUNIS MAHMOUD TO BUSH: You and me, all-or-nothing penalty shoot out for Iraq
- TIME: Don't kid yourself, Iraq: you're still not a real country
- J.K. ROWLING: I couldn't bear to kill Arthur Weasley
- FAITH HILL: Get your hands off my man's balls!
- BEYONCE: *kerplunk*
- USHER: My mom says I can't marry you
.
Tuesday, May 29, 2007
Everyone's Doing it, LeBron. Just Sign the Letter!
Cleveland Cavaliers star LeBron James caused a mini-controversy by refusing to "sign an open letter, written by his teammate Ira Newble condemning China's government for contributing to the genocide of people in the Darfur region of Sudan," according to an article by PA Sports Ticker.
"China cannot be a legitimate host to the premier international event in the sporting world - the Summer Olympic Games - while it remains complicit in the terrible suffering and destruction that continues to this day," Newble wrote. Many are criticizing the 22 year-old player.
James claimed he does not "have enough information about the issue." He clearly has not been following the news. Everyone knows about the clear link between the conflict in Darfur and China. It is simple. The nomads and the sedentary folks in Darfur fought over the decreasingly arable land, with the former being armed and encouraged by the Sudanese government (to combat the separatist rebels among the sedentary people). With governmental backing and occasional intervention, the nomadic people became increasingly violent, sometimes retaliating against violence committed against them, but also approaching egregious levels that can be described as "ethnic cleansing." (Though when Israelis do it to Palestinians, who are also separatists, it is justified as "national security.")
Okay, so maybe it is not simple. Since when do political opinions need to informed, LeBron? Don't you watch FOX News? Any blonde with hatred for people of color can get a job as a political commentator and book author these days.
The logic of Newble's letter rests on this: China does business with the Sudanese government, so China must be pressured. I agree with this sentiment, but there are some obvious gaps in Newble's letter.
Curiously no one is condemning the US for doing business with China, or asking countries that do business with the US to stop because of its large hand in the Chinese economy. China is America's second largest trading partner this year. It is easier to hide our national acquiescence in wrong-doing. it makes us seem as benevolent as possible and the problem as foreign -- namely as "Arab" -- as possible. Nothing demonstrates this bigger than the obvious fact that the scale of death, destruction and displacement in Darfur is much smaller than what the US is doing in Iraq now.
Just as mysteriously, China's human rights record is as bad as or worse than Sudan's. Why doesn't the letter address this more obvious and direct problem? Why condemn a notorious human rights violator for its support of other's human rights violations but not its own? This may be some sort of political calculation, but it seems fishy if you ask me.
As for LeBron's silence, I cannot be surprised. He is essentially a human corporation who will do what is clearly in his best interest. He would never threaten his ginormous contract with Nike, with all its stake in the China market. He is following the Michael Jordan model of professional athlete -- maximizing his interests and saving charity for public relations. Given LeBron's public displays of Christianity, I find this hypocritical. WWJD?
Sure, I wish James would follow the example of Mohammad Ali, but then again, a movement for change cannot rest on celebrities.
I applaud professional athletes for trying to use their public visibility to raise awareness about what's going on in the world, even if it is overly simplistic or full of gaps. The people of Darfur, especially the refugees, need to have the right of return and be compensated for their suffering.
Either way, Pistons in six.
Tuesday, February 27, 2007
Where the Israeli Baseball League Can Find the Best Pitchers
In Tom Segev's book, Elvis in Jerusalem: Post-Zionism and the Americanization of Israel, he found that Israel increasingly resembled the United States, with its "shopping malls, fast food, public art, television, religious kitsch." He argues that it is having a positive impact by breaking down Zionism's arch-nationalistic project of inventing a new national identity. Therefore, it is helping Israel become more pragmatic, tolerant, and individualistic, which he sees as the path to compromise and openness (most people in the world see Israel and the US as having neither).
He would point to the establishment of Israel's new baseball league as a sign of increased Americanization. Like American settlers, American baseball players are running to work in the new league. They, like the settlers, likely know little to nothing about the history of the native inhabitants of the place their homes will be built on -- the Palestinians. For one thing, they probably never heard of the greatest pitcher in Palestinian baseball history: the fearless ravager of batters and Israeli soldiers alike, the indomitable Um Khalil. 
Instead of recruiting players from the Dominican Republic, the league can probably find some great players in the occupied territories, where their innate athletic prowess is molded by heaving rocks at, and dodging, tanks, Apache helicopters, and mobs of Israeli troops.
Saturday, December 02, 2006
Viva Italia
This is how the Italian fans of the club Livorno welcomed Israel's Maccabi Haifa during their UEFA match earlier this week. Of course this is not the first time European fans welcome Apartheid teams this way, but I still get a kick out of it every time they do.
I love how the Arabic sign is clearly written by a non-native speaker. Kinda gives it an extra kick.
Wednesday, November 22, 2006
Israel Grounds Palestinian Football Team Again
Israeli travel restriction against Palestinians are no news, not only within Palestine, but also in and out of Palestine. Those who are traveling to represent Palestine in various cultural events are especially targeted with such restrictions as part of Israel's efforts to deny and abolish Palestinian identity. 
Last week, Israel prevented Palestinian footballers from leaving Gaza to attend their scheduled match against hosts Singapore.
GAZA (Reuters) - The head of the Palestinian Football Association said his national team's no-show at an Asian Cup qualifier against hosts Singapore on Wednesday was due to Israel's refusal to allow players to travel from Gaza.Ironically, even though this Reuters' story was distributed through the wires on Nov. 11th, four days later, FOX Sports was taken by surprise that the Palestinian team was a "no-show." I guess the apple does not fall too far from Rupert Murdoch.
Ahmed al-Afifi said the fixture had to be cancelled because players making up most of the team could not travel through the Rafah crossing from Gaza to Egypt. Another three players, Palestinian expatriates, were to have travelled separately.
He said Israel had also refused to allow team members to take an alternative route via Israel and the occupied West Bank to Jordan for their onward journey to Singapore. They had planned to travel to Singapore on November 12.
The Israeli army denied the allegation, saying Rafah was open to the team at the time of their request to travel abroad.
But a military spokesman confirmed that Erez, a Gaza border crossing used by Palestinians to enter Israel, had been closed due to security concerns related to a six-year-old armed conflict between Israel and Palestinian militants.
[Tarboush tip: Abdulio]
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
