US EditionIsrael postpones demolition of Palestinian children's football pitch in Bethlehem
- This past week the Israeli army reclassified the demolition of the Aida Youth Centre's football pitch in Bethlehem as non urgent and froze the order, BBC reported a political decision to postpone it for the time being.
- Israeli authorities said the pitch was built without permits and was too close to Israel's separation barrier, citing security concerns; construction began in 2020 to serve more than 200 young players from the Aida refugee camp.
- A global `Save the Pitch` campaign, backed by a petition with more than half a million signatures, attracted attention as UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin and FIFA officials intervened in talks with Israeli and Swiss authorities.
- `I felt emotional and relieved, but also careful,` Mohammad Abusrour said as the youth centre stressed it had received no official written confirmation and residents had one week plus seven days from the Israeli army to demolish the pitch themselves.
- Amid calls to bar Israel from competitions over the Gaza war, the Palestinian Football Association said the order fits a pattern destroying almost 300 sports facilities and campaigners warned it would embolden further targeting.
16 Articles
16 Articles
The football field of the Palestinian refugee camp in Bethlehem, in the occupied West Bank, is threatened with demolition by Israel.
A Palestinian soccer field in the city of Bethlehem, in the occupied West Bank, was saved from a planned Israeli demolition order thanks to international pressure, according to sources who spoke to CNN on condition of anonymity.
Relief in Aida camp as Israel pauses football pitch demolition
The sports director at the youth centre at the Aida football pitch told The New Arab he felt both relief and caution this week after the ground was spared demolition, following confirmed intervention by UEFA and reported involvement by FIFA after an international campaign. Israeli authorities had ordered the demolition of the pitch in Aida refugee camp, on the outskirts of Bethlehem, on 31 December, arguing it was built without permits in an are…
UEFA President Aleksander Čeferin held talks with representatives of the Israeli Football Association regarding the preservation of the pitch in the refugee camp.
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