Aida camp’s football pitch faces demolition, despite reports of a delay, leaving the community uncertain.
Bethlehem, occupied West Bank – A youth centre in the Palestinian Aida refugee camp has denied reports that Israel has halted plans to demolish a local football pitch, saying it has received no official notifications to that effect.
Munther Amira, the head of the Aida Youth Centre, said on Wednesday that it had not been given any formal document confirming reports, published by some Israeli media outlets, that claimed Israel had responded to international pressure and suspended the demolition order.
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Reports suggested Israel had acted following pressure from the world football body FIFA, and European football administrators UEFA, to stop the planned demolition of the pitch, which is located near Israel’s separation barrier north of Bethlehem.
“Our lawyers have not received any official response from the court or from the Israeli authorities confirming this information,” Amira said. “For Aida camp, the youth centre and the Aida sports team, these remain unconfirmed media reports with no official basis.”
‘Save the Pitch’
In the last few weeks the Aida Youth Centre launched an international campaign called “Save the Pitch”, in an effort to stop Israel from carrying out the demolition order on the refugee camp’s football pitch – its only sporting facility.
Amira, who manages the pitch, told media that uncertainty has haunted the community since November.
“Israeli occupation forces issued the first demolition order against the football pitch on November 3 after storming the camp and posting the notice on the pitch’s main gate,” Amira said.
He added that the first demolition order cited “security concerns”, claiming the pitch posed a threat due to its proximity to the illegal separation wall adjacent to the camp.
“We’ve been living on edge after receiving successive demolition orders targeting the pitch, which represents hope for 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 Popular Committee for Services – which holds the lease to the pitch – petitioned an Israeli court, resulting in a decision to delay the demolion until January 18.
Amira explained that the Israeli army granted the centre an additional seven days to carry out the demolition themselves.
“They told us either we demolish the pitch ourselves, or they will demolish it and force us to pay the costs,” which Amira said would not happen.
Saeed al-Azzha, the head of Aida’s Popular Committee for Services, said an agreement with the Bethlehem Municipality allowed for the use of the land to build a football pitch, a theatre and a public garden. “The committee built the pitch and the theatre, but Israel prevented the construction of the garden and issued repeated demolition orders against the pitch,” he said.
Al-Azzha stressed that the pitch was built legally on leased land owned by the Armenian Church.
Targeting Palestinian sport
According to the Palestinian Football Association (PFA), the demolition order constitutes a violation of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, which Israel has ratified, and deprives hundreds of children of their right to practise sport and to develop in a safe and healthy environment.
The PFA said the decision forms part of what it described as a systematic Israeli policy targeting Palestinian sport, which has resulted in the killing of hundreds of Palestinian athletes, and the destruction of almost 300 sport facilities, either totally or partially.
Players from the Aida Youth Centre’s AOD football team expressed deep sadness over the demolition order.
“I started my sporting life and playing football on this pitch,” said 18-year-old Rimas Sarhan during training at the Aida Youth Centre.
“I can’t believe there is an Israeli decision to demolish it. The question is: Why? What danger does this pitch pose?” she said.
Ten-year-old Mohammed Jadou is also struggling with the decision. “I don’t know why the Israeli army wants to demolish the pitch,” he said during a training activity. “We don’t hurt anyone. I hope they don’t demolish it – if they do, where will we play?”
Fears persist that if Israel is able to demolish the pitch, it will be emboldened to target more sport facilities across the occupied West Bank, where it has carried out near-daily military raids for the past three years.
Palestinian sport journalist Anan Shehadeh told media that Israel has long viewed Palestinian sport as a platform for national identity and political expression, capable of conveying the Palestinian narrative to the world.
He recalled that before the opening of Majed Asad Stadium in el-Bireh, near Ramallah, on April 14, 2011 – which was attended by then-President of FIFA Sepp Blatter – Israel had threatened to demolish it.
“International and legal efforts prevented that demolition at the time,” he said. “But today, Israeli threats extend to almost every sports facility in Palestine.”
“When Israel targets sport, it targets the Palestinian sporting spirit,” Shehadeh added. “It seeks to push young people into harmful spaces and prevent them from becoming ambassadors for their country.”
The Palestinian sport sector has also been devastated in Gaza as a result of Israel’s genocidal war on the Strip, Shehadeh said
“Over the past two years, sports infrastructure in Gaza has been almost completely destroyed, while in the West Bank it has been heavily targeted through checkpoints and arrests,” he said.
“Despite all these measures, Israel has failed to eliminate sport,” Shehadeh added, pointing to the Palestinian national football team’s strong recent performances.
Appeals to international sports bodies
Nader al-Jayousi, the technical director of the Palestine Olympic Committee, told media that Israeli practices have had a direct impact on Palestinian sport, with leagues suspended since the start of the war, activities reduced to a minimum, and a sharp decline in performance across many sports and national teams.
“Yet we are witnessing growing engagement among Palestinian athletes,” al-Jayousi said. “We must preserve hope and continue sport, because stopping sport means killing hope.”
He added that Palestinian authorities have reached out to international sporting bodies, giving FIFA and other international federations documented evidence of Israeli violations against Palestinian sport.
“Unfortunately, there have been no concrete measures or effective sanctions against these violations so far,” al-Jayousi added. “We want the international sports community to hold Israel accountable so that it stops targeting Palestinian athletes, sports facilities and sport itself.”
