Bethlehem, occupied West Bank – The floodlights came on at al-Khader Stadium, and for a few hours, the scene looked almost ordinary. Young men sang from the stands as families settled into their seats and children ran along the front row. On the pitch, the Arab Orthodox Beit Jala and Dheisheh Youth football teams warmed up.
The teams traded chances as fans cheered, groaned and shouted at the referee. It was the first organised competition Palestinian clubs had played in nearly three years. At half-time, a commotion broke out behind the stadium.
People began rising from their seats to see what was happening. From the pitch, Beit Jala’s 20-year-old Cesar Sarras watched the crowd turn towards the noise. I haven’t witnessed it, but I hear about it a lot… I thought, this must be the [Israeli] army.” This time, it was not a military raid, but a squabble between supporters.
The crowd settled back into their seats, and the match resumed. For the rest of the night, fans’ attention returned to the game. A full stadium, she said, is “a very beautiful feeling”.
The match was part of the Thousand Martyrs Cup, named after 1,014 athletes killed since October 2023, when Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza and intensifying attacks on the West Bank brought Palestinian football to a halt. It is seen as part of a staggered reintroduction of competitive football back to Palestine after a long delay. Firas Abu Hilal, secretary-general of the Palestinian Football Association (PFA), said that Israel’s occupation has “prevented everyone from playing football through checkpoints, movement restrictions, attacks on facilities, and the arrest of players and administrators.” In Gaza, 90 percent of stadiums have been destroyed, with some grounds occupied by tents housing displaced families, he added.
The war has seen the deaths of hundreds of athletes. This includes national team forward Suleiman al-Obeid, who was killed while waiting for aid in Gaza in 2025, and Olympic team coach Hani al-Masdar, killed in 2024. However, returning to the pitch has meant adapting to many of the same Israeli restrictions that brought the game to a halt.
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