The Pakistan Institute of Legislative Development and Transparency (PILDAT) has issued a report detailing its assessment of the recently-concluded general election, expressing deep concerns over a decline in fairness scores compared to previous election cycles.
Like several other Arab nations, Morocco has agreed full diplomatic ties with Israel — but this has not stopped its players from making clear their loyalties regarding the decades-old conflict.
They unfurled a Palestinian flag on the pitch after their stunning Dec 6 upset victory against Spain, and also after beating Canada during the group stage.
Moroccan players have also made pro-Palestinian social media posts during the tournament.
Palestinians in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, Gaza and annexed east Jerusalem have — like much of the Middle East — embraced Morocco, the first Arab nation to reach a FIFA World Cup semi-finals.
Ramallah sporting goods store owner Saeed al-Ramahi said enthusiasm for the Moroccan team seemed unquenchable, with all of their jerseys sold out.
“If I had 300,000 shirts, I would have sold them all in the last two days,” he told AFP.
That is despite Morocco joining the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain in establishing full diplomatic ties with Israel in 2020 under deals brokered by then US president Donald Trump.
Rajoub, the Palestinian top football official, said this proves the enduring support for the Palestinian cause, regardless of any decisions made by Arab leaders.
“The World Cup reveals the lie that the Palestinian cause has been buried by the recent normalization agreements” said Rajoub, who is also the secretary general of Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas’s Fatah movement.
Palestinians condemned those normalization deals as “a stab in the back,” and a betrayal of the decades-old Arab League position against recognizing Israel until it agrees to the establishment of a Palestinian state with its capital in east Jerusalem.
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