Issam Khalidi
Since October 2023, athletes and sports infrastructure have been
impacted by the genocidal assault that Israel has inflicted Gaza’s people and
its built environment. In addition to the athletes and coaches who have been
killed, sports clubs and arenas have been destroyed, and stadiums used for mass
arrests and mass graves.
Among
the reasons I hesitated to write this article was the fact that there is a
sense of ambivalence among many (a mixture of pessimism and optimism) regarding
Israel's failure to observe the ceasefire, the return of the genocidal war in
Gaza, and the continuing suffering of Palestinians there.
Will it be possible to rebuild the destroyed and damaged sports
infrastructure? And will sports in the Gaza Strip ever be the same as it was
before the deaths of more than one thousand athletes and sports leaders
and administrators, in addition to the destruction of the infrastructure?
The
answers to these questions are challenging, and speculating about the Gaza
Strip’s political future is particularly difficult at this stage. There are
several factors that contribute to the restoration of sports to their former
states, including the political situation, security, stability, and the
mechanism and pace of the reconstruction process.
Sports
restoration is directly related to the restoration of the educational, health,
economic, social, and cultural sectors, and all other sectors as well. Every
single one of these sectors as well as the sports sector in particular will
have its very own unique characteristics as it recovers and returns to the
pre-genocidal war state. Additionally, it is necessary to recall the
destruction that was caused by the occupation during its aggressions of
2008-2009, 2012, 2014, and 2021, during which the sports infrastructure was
specifically targeted for destruction by the occupation.
It is necessary to rely on certain facts
and data on the ground to make predictions concerning the future of Palestinian
sports in the Gaza Strip. There are several negative aspects that raise a number of concerns for us.
The importance of taking into consideration few perspectives when it
comes to sports losses is crucial: In the first place, even though there are
still no concrete data regarding the losses of sports
infrastructure up to this point, there has been a massive destruction of sports
infrastructure such as stadiums, sports facilities, buildings, etc. It has been
reported that many schools, especially UNRWA schools, have had their playing
fields and grounds destroyed and that most social sports clubs have been
destroyed completely as well. The losses in the sports sector are estimated to
be in the hundreds of millions of dollars.
In
the second place, there was the martyrdom of about a thousand athletes and
sports administrators. When compared to the total number of athletes and administrators
in this sector, this is a significant number.
Third, the majority of athletes will also need to be able to recover
their skills that have been interrupted due to interruptions in training and
competition, as well as their physical and psychological suffering, which will
certainly have a long-term effect on them, especially after the period of
famine, food shortages, and the physical and psychological trauma they endured.
It is well known that school sports
represent a vital part of the Palestinian sports movement and are a very
important part of it. Palestinian data shows Israel's genocidal war has also
destroyed more than 200 government facilities and 136 schools and universities.
Thus, it is expected that the recovery of the education sector in the Gaza
Strip will have a positive impact on the revival of the sports movement as
well. Many prominent Palestinian athletes have emerged from the school sports
scene, which is worth noting since it is the breeding ground for Palestinian
sports, from which many prominent Palestinian athletes were born.
It
is still true that there are some positive facts and aspects that can be relied
upon and that give us a feeling of optimism. The first of those is: Among the
many characteristics that distinguish our people is their ability to recover
from the harsh blows dealt to them. This is what we saw in the Gaza Strip after
the Nakba (catastrophe of 1948).
Moreover,
sports in the Gaza Strip have a long history and roots that stretch back
decades, demonstrating steadfastness against the ravages of war. Despite
occupation and the obstacles, Palestinian sports continued to grow and
progress. Israel’s destruction of Palestinian sports may inspire Palestinian
athletes to compete in the future and fight in the sports arena as means of
proving themselves. Certainly, they will work hard to achieve the success they
desire. In spite of the genocide, Palestinian youth still have desires, hopes,
and ambitions for the future.
Finally,
it should be noted that at the end of the day, the Arab and international
community's solidarity and support in response to the suffering of the
Palestinian people will have a significant impact on the rebuilding of the
Palestinian sports movement and its infrastructure in Palestine as a whole.
The
experience of Palestinian sports in the past has confirmed that they are
characterized by resilience and a capacity to recover from difficulties. This
is what happened in Gaza after the Nakba. Additionally, Palestine's FIFA
ranking was 191 in 1999 (one year after joining in 1998), rose to 73 in 2018,
and now stands at 94. Furthermore, despite this war of annihilation, the
Palestinian national football team reached the second round for the first time
in its history of the 2023 AFC Asian Cup in Qatar, as well as reaching the
third (decisive) round of the World Cup qualifiers for the first time in its
history.
The Palestinian delegation to the 2024 Olympics
was the biggest ever. The Palestinian Taekwondo player Omar Ismail Hantouli
qualified for the Olympics through qualifying and ranking points, becoming only
the second Palestinian athlete in history to have made it to the Olympics
through qualifying and ranking points. In October 2024, Marian Bsharat became
the first Palestinian to win the World Karate Championship in the + 61 kg final
title. Initially, it was expected that the Palestinian football team would be
taking part in the World Cup in 2026. Unfortunately, Palestine lost to Oman,
who scored the winning goal in the 97th minute of the game.
Ultimately,
the process of restoring sports to their former state is a difficult one that
requires commitment, patience, and favorable conditions to be successful.
However, it is not impossible. In addition, it is difficult to separate the
Gaza Strip from the West Bank as well. This is due to the fact that sports in
the Strip are an integral part of the Palestinian sports scene in general.
Ultimately, the goal (after the occupation ends) is the full integration of
sports in the Strip and the West Bank under one sports administration and one
unified national government in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank.
At the end, sport may not return to its
former glory. However, as demonstrated throughout history, every time Israel
attempts to destroy the Palestinian people, they come back stronger and more
resilient than before.
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