JNS
Israel is the “barbarian” and the terrorist organization is the “humane one” in the conflict, the play-caller said.
The match announcer of Israel Premier League soccer team Bnei Sakhnin F.C. was dismissed on Monday after an interview in which he praised Hamas surfaced in Hebrew media.
Saeed Hassanain, who is a long-time Israeli sports journalist, urged Israeli Arab citizens not to join the Israel Defense Forces, which he dubbed “the enemy’s army, the occupation army.”
Speaking to the Hamas-run Al-Aqsa TV, he further remarked that the way Hamas treated female hostages during captivity in Gaza “proves conclusively who is the barbarian and who is the humane one” in the Israel-Hamas conflict.
In the interview, obtained and aired by Israel’s Channel 14, Hassanain said that freed hostage Omer Shem Tov kissed his captors’ forehead during the prerelease ceremony staged by Hamas “willingly, because he appreciates and respects what the person who held him did for him.
“He who only thinks about joining the occupation army,” he continued, appealing to Israeli Arabs, “must think a million times where he is going and how he is selling his conscience, his moral compass and his religion on this immoral path.”
These remarks led to a public storm. Bnei Sakhnin released an official statement, saying that Hassanain’s volunteer role as the play-caller of the team in its home games has come to an end and that “it was made clear to him that the things he said do not represent the club.”
Israeli Culture and Sports Minister Miki Zohar called for the dismissal of Hassanain.
“This is a slap in the face of the Israeli soccer league. Bnei Sakhnin club can’t be associated with such things, otherwise we will not be able to bridge the rifts in Israeli society,” Zohar said.
Israeli Football Leagues Administration chairman Erez Kalfon said in a letter sent to Bnei Sahknin: “We were shocked by the outrageous, false and unacceptable statements made by Mr. Saeed Hassanain, who holds an official position within Bnei Sakhnin, as presented in his interview with Al-Aqsa TV—the television channel of the despicable terrorist organization Hamas.
“These statements are, to say the least, unacceptable in Israeli society, and certainly in Israeli soccer,” the letter continued.
In September, Israeli police arrested 12 people at a professional soccer match in Beersheva, when violent clashes broke out after fans of Bnei Sakhnin turned their backs during the playing of the national anthem.
Supporters of the home club, Hapoel Beersheva F.C., became enraged when Bnei Sakhnin fans turned their backs as “Hatikvah” (“The Hope”) played before the kickoff at Turner Stadium. A brawl ensued when they stormed the pitch and beat the Bnei Sakhnin supporters with long sticks.
A dozen rioters were arrested as players and referees took shelter away from the pitch, while hundreds of people sprinted onto the turf to join in the brawl.
In November 2023, Arab-Israeli soccer player Ataa Jaber observed a moment of silence for Gaza during a 2026 World Cup qualifier match.
In a letter to Israeli Interior Minister Moshe Arbel, Zohar asked that Jaber’s citizenship be revoked for showing a “clear identification with terrorists.
“It is impossible that in the midst of the war in Gaza, an Israeli citizen would choose to identify with the enemy who massacred and murdered over 1,300 men, women and babies on Oct. 7, 2023,” Zohar wrote.
“Against the background of this clear identification with terrorists, which is prohibited according to the Anti-Terrorism Law, I would like to revoke Jaber’s citizenship in accordance with the conditions set forth in the 1972 Citizenship Law,” he continued.
