The return of Palestinian football: ‘We are a people who must live’

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.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemslist 1 of 4Palestine weekly: Ahead of elections, Israel doubles down on attackslist 2 of 4Palestinian club football to restart in September after Gaza war suspensionlist 3 of 4Adidas faces boycott calls over campaign featuring former Israeli soldierlist 4 of 4Undeterred by fines, Al-Shaair pays tribute to Palestinian girl Wafaa Akilaend of listThen the whistle blew. 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 was afraid when I saw all the fans getting up,” he told Al Jazeera. “Sometimes I hear ab...