Tuesday marked a dark day in the conflict between Israel and the Palestinian territories, when hundreds of people died in a hospital explosion in Gaza.
Liverpool’s Egyptian star winger Mohamed Salah posted to his more than 63 million Instagram followers on Wednesday the videowith which he appealed to world leaders to cooperate so that no more innocent lives are lost and humanity is preserved.
– All human souls are sacred and must be protected. Mass murders must stop. Families are being torn apart. Gaza must receive humanitarian aid immediately. There are people in harsh conditions, a serious-looking Salah said, looking straight into the camera.
– Yesterday’s pictures from the hospital were horrific. People in Gaza are in dire need of food, water and medical supplies.
The most recent conflict between Gaza and Israel began when the Palestinian terrorist organization Hamas launched a surprise large-scale attack on Israel on October 7. It has been followed by a series of Israeli counterstrikes.
According to Israel, more than 1,400 Israelis have died and there are about 200 people in Gaza who are prisoners of Hamas. According to the Palestinian health authorities, more than 4,600 people have been killed and 14,000 wounded in the Israeli counterattacks.
follows the war in Gaza in this article.
Uproar and apologies
In addition to Salah, many other football players from Arab countries have taken a stand on the situation in the Middle East.
For example, a Dutch striker of Moroccan background Anwar El Ghazi used a pro-Hamas slogan in his own Instagram post, after which El Ghazi’s Bundesliga club Mainz 05 sidelined him from the team’s activities. The club said they discussed the matter with the player for a long time.
– We respect the fact that there are different perspectives on a decades-old and complex conflict, but we want to make a clean break with the social publication in question, because it does not represent the values of our club, Mainz 05 in the bulletin was written.
After the original publication was removed, 28-year-old El Ghazi said on the messaging service X that he wanted to make it clear that he was in favor of peace.
In addition to Israel, the European Union, among others, has defined Hamas as a terrorist organization.
Also the Algerian defender of Nice, who plays in the French premier league Youcef Atal has been sidelined from his team’s activities for the time being. He allegedly posted an anti-Semitic video on social media about the Israel-Gaza conflict.
The Nice Prosecutor’s Office and the Ethics Council of the French Football Federation are investigating Atali’s activities.
Atal has deleted the video and apologized.
– I know that my publication shocked people. That was not my intention. I condemn all forms of violence and support all its victims, Atal said.
The big Bundesliga club Bayern Munich, on the other hand decided to go unpunished his Moroccan defender Noussair Mazraouitawho showed his support for Palestine on social media.
Also, for example, a Tunisian tennis star Ons Jabeur has taken a stand for Palestine.
Praise in Western countries
The stance of Salah, one of the best players in the world, has garnered great praise in Western countries due to the video’s impartiality, writes The Athletic. Salah did not blame any party for the massacre, but called for the necessity of humanitarian aid and human dignity.
The video, which received more than 5.5 million likes on Instagram by Sunday, differs from Salah’s social media posts about family life and football. According to Athletic, the subject made Salah emotional and several takes had to be filmed for the video.
The Liverpool star and his team decided to film the video after returning from the national team break in England. Egypt faced Algeria in their last match of the national team window on Monday.
Salah wanted to choose his words carefully and focus on the importance of human dignity. Athletic reports that Salah also made a “substantial” donation to the Egyptian Red Crescent, which helps those in need in Gaza.
Criticism in Arab countries
Salah is a Muslim. In the past, it has been written about, among other things, how acting as a superstar’s role model had reduced Islamophobic behavior and hate crimes in the Liverpool area.
However, Salah’s reputation, which is very popular in Egypt, has taken a hit in Arab countries.
Salah has been accused of a slow response to the conflict in Gaza. From perhaps the best athlete in the Arab world a statement has been awaited for the Palestinians, and he lost because of silence, for example, more than a million followers on Facebook.
For example, Salah’s national teammate who plays in Arsenal Mohamed Elneny changed his profile picture The Palestinian flag to show support for the Arabs of Gaza and the West Bank.
When Salah finally took a stand, some were disappointed to the neutral tone of the statement and felt that the star player did not defend the Palestinians.
Critics are skepticalwhether Salah, who has played and lived in Europe since 2012, is now worried about his reputation and sponsorship contracts in Western countries and wonder if he can be called the “Pride of the Arabs” anymore.
Tähtlaitur was also criticized in connection with the 2021 Israel-Palestine crisis, when he hoped for an end to the killing, and did not blame Israel separately.
Salah, who played for FC Basel in 2013, took a stand on the field when he refused from shaking hands with the players of the Israeli team Maccabi Tel Aviv in the Champions League qualifiers.
Salah moved from AS Roma to Liverpool in the summer of 2017 and has won the Premier League, Champions League and FA Cup with the red shirts. He has been the top scorer of the Premier League season three times.
Salah has twice been chosen as the best footballer in Africa. The Egyptian led his country to the World Cup for the first time in 28 years in 2018.