Agencies-Gaza post
FIFA hospitality web site lists Palestine as a substitute of Israel
Winterhill Hospitality, the official Qatar 2022 FIFA World Cup hospitality booking website, has listed Palestine as a country option instead of Israel.
The listing previously read “Palestinian Territory, Occupied” before being changed into “Palestine”, with Palestinian and pro-Palestine activists praising the move and Israelis and Zionist supporters decrying it “anti-Semitic”.
Winterhill Hospitality, a Hong Kong-based company, has exclusive rights to offer hospitality services for the World Cup mentioned that its subsidiary MATCH Hospitality “is the only company in the world that is authorized by FIFA to offer and guarantee exclusive ticket-inclusive hospitality packages for every match of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022.”
“Qatar removed Israel from the World Cup page and replaces it with the occupied Palestinian territories. Long live Qatar and the Emir,” said one Twitter user.
“The truth that the whole world must repeat, there is no such thing as ‘Israel’ but the ‘occupied Palestinian territories’,” said another Twitter user.
“Thank you to Qatar for crossing out the name of Israel from the list of the countries of the World Cup. Salute to the Government of Qatar,” one user added.
Meantime, supporters of the Israeli occupation condemned Doha for refusing to list Israel as an option on the official website.
Israel and pro-Israeli groups have repeatedly resorted to describing all movements and support to the Palestinian cause as “anti-Semitic”.
Israel reached a deal with FIFA in June to allow Israelis to purchase tickets for the tournament and enter Qatar, making it the first time that Israelis will be accepted into the country without using a foreign passport.
