Jailed by 'Israel': World Cup reality for Palestinian players left behind bars

• One freed, one still jailed: 'Israel's' detention of Palestinian players casts a heavy shadow over the World Cup.

As global football fans celebrate the opening matches of the World Cup, the tournament highlights a starkly different reality for Palestinian athletes under occupation.

Following the release of 20-year-old national team player Rand Halawani after six days in an 'Israeli' jail, her former teammate, 21-year-old Natalie Abu Dayyeh, remains in military custody, fueling intense scrutiny and public protests directed at world football’s governing body, FIFA.

Detention and release in Jerusalem

On June 2, 'Israeli' forces arrested Rand Halawani, an active member of the Palestinian women’s national football team, after she was summoned for questioning at the Talpiot police station in West Jerusalem. 'Israeli' police alleged that the East Jerusalem resident was detained for "throwing objects from a rooftop at demonstrators." Following six days in detention, Halawani was released, though she remains under ongoing legal investigation by Israeli authorities.

The Palestinian Football Association (PFA) welcomed her release but emphasized that her arrest is part of a broader, systemic issue. In an official statement, the PFA noted that Palestinian footballers are routinely "denied freedom of movement, safety, and the basic right to participate in sport under equal conditions."

University raid leaves former player behind bars

While Halawani has been freed, former national squad player Natalie Abu Dayyeh remains trapped in the 'Israeli' military court system. On the same day as Halawani's arrest, 'Israeli' forces raided student accommodations in the occupied West Bank to detain Abu Dayyeh, a journalism student at Birzeit University, alongside three other young women.

The 'Israeli' military claimed the students were suspected of "promoting terrorist activities," though no formal evidence has been made public. Birzeit University strongly condemned the raid, calling it a direct assault on Palestinian higher education. Bishop Imad Haddad of the Evangelical Lutheran Church, to which Abu Dayyeh belongs, expressed deep shock over the arrest, noting that her family was initially left entirely in the dark regarding her location. According to the Palestinian Prisoners Club, Abu Dayyeh is among dozens of Palestinian women currently held in 'Israeli' detention facilities.

Activists turn up the heat on FIFA

The arrests have amplified global demands for FIFA to take a definitive stand against the 'Israeli' Football Association (IFA). Critics argue that FIFA is applying a double standard by failing to suspend 'Israel', pointing to the rapid sports sanctions leveled against Russia following its 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

At World Cup promotional events worldwide, activists have mobilized to demand Israel's expulsion from international football. In Toronto, demonstrators dropped large banners featuring Abu Dayyeh's face outside a World Cup venue, explicitly accusing FIFA of "sportswashing" violations of international law by allowing 'Israeli' league clubs based in illegal West Bank settlements to participate in its official structures.

Despite formal petitions from the PFA and mounting pressure from international human rights groups, FIFA has yet to issue a disciplinary ruling or public comment regarding the targeting of active international players.