"A football pitch used by refugees in the occupied West Bank has been saved from demolition after an intervention by the president of Uefa, Aleksander Ceferin. A decision to stop plans to remove the pitch in the Aida refugee camp outside Bethlehem was taken by Israeli security forces on Tuesday after an international campaign for its preservation. Ceferin is understood to have held three telephone conversations with the Israeli Football Association (IFA) to discuss the issue of the Aida pitch during the past week, with the IFA relaying the concerns to security services."
"The Aida camp stands next to the West Bank separation barrier and was home to 7,244 Palestine refugees in 2023, according to UN agency for Palestinian refugees. The pitch, laid in 2021, is the only one in the camp and is used regularly by members of the community, including girls who have represented Palestine at youth level. It became the focus of global attention this month after it was reported that Israeli authorities had served notice that the pitch was to be removed because, the Israel Defense Forces said, it was built unlawfully."
"We can confirm that the Uefa president has been in contact with the Israel football federation regarding the preservation of a football pitch in a refugee camp in the West Bank, Uefa said. We take the opportunity to thank the president of the federation, Moshe Zuares, for his efforts to help protect the site from demolition."
A football pitch used by refugees in the occupied West Bank was saved from demolition after intervention by UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin. Israeli security forces stopped plans to remove the pitch in the Aida refugee camp outside Bethlehem. Ceferin held three telephone conversations with the Israeli Football Association, which relayed concerns to security services, and the FIFA executive also engaged with the IFA. The Aida camp sits next to the West Bank separation barrier and housed 7,244 Palestine refugees in 2023. The pitch, laid in 2021, is the camp's only field and is regularly used by community members, including girls who have represented Palestine at youth level. Israeli authorities had served notice claiming the pitch was built unlawfully.
Read at www.theguardian.com
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]