Palestinians back Sweden in WC match

GAZA CITY, Palestinian Territories: As England prepare to play Sweden in a crunch World Cup quarter-final Saturday, the Scandinavians will find strong support in a perhaps unlikely location: the Palestinian enclave of Gaza.

In busy cafes where young men pack in to watch games while smoking shisha, the support for Sweden may be almost as strong as their dislike for England after a century of historical hurt. Closed off by an Israeli blockade for the past decade, politics seeps into nearly every conversation in the strip, even when it comes to football. And in this game, for many Palestinians, there is a clear good and bad guy. “Of course I will support Sweden,” said 37-year-old Hisham Ahmed.

“I can’t imagine a Palestinian supporting England, which created the Balfour Agreement, or not supporting the country that stood before the world and recognised our state.”

In 1917, the British government declared its support for the creation of a Jewish state in historic Palestine in a document called the Balfour Declaration. The declaration is seen by Israelis as a key moment in the eventual creation of their country in 1948 in the biblical-era Jewish homeland.

Palestinians see it as leading to what they call the 1948 Nakba, or catastrophe, when hundreds of thousands fled or were expelled during the war surrounding Israel’s creation at the end of the British mandate in the region. Sweden has long been a vocal supporter of the Palestinians and was the first European Union country to recognise Palestine as a state.

“Football is not removed from politics,” said Ahmed, an accountant. “These teams represent their countries and governments and will raise their flags in the stands. How can I support the country that allowed the Jewish state on our land?” His friend Abdullah al-Shanti agreed. “Anyone supporting England is supporting Israel itself,” he said.

“Britain is the one who created Israel and one of its largest supporters. (Sweden’s) victory will make Palestinians happy as much as England’s defeat.”

The World Cup tournament in Russia has been a welcome relief for Palestinians seeking a break from their difficult lives in Gaza.