Palestine's fans feel proud despite their team's loss to Qatar in Asian Cup

Despite the war, the only thing that mattered in Al Dhahiriyah in the occupied West Bank was the number 7 jersey worn by Palestine's Musab al-Battat.

For those in the team captain's native village, and despite the team's last 16 2-1 loss to Champions Qatar in Doha on Monday, the game was 90 minutes of pure pride.

Hours before kick-off, the plastic chairs had already been drawn up in a semicircle. There were sweets, and black, green and red wigs in the national colours for the kids.

Four generations gathered together on a terrace under an awning to cheer for the Lions of Canaan.

Palestine opened the score in the 37th minute, causing an explosion of joy among those watching the game on television.

Qatar may be an ally of the Palestinians, but on the pitch, it's a different matter altogether.

The game took place against the backdrop of Israel's brutal war on besieged Gaza, and a brief moment's silence was held before Monday's kick-off.

Some of the Palestinian squad have lost loved ones or have relatives trapped in Gaza, but for the first time in its history, Palestine had reached the knockout rounds of the Asian Cup.

Opening stunner

Oday Dabbagh stunned the Qatar crowd of almost 65,000 at the Al-Bayt Stadium with his opening goal, and the Palestinians celebrated by crossing their arms in a handcuffs gesture to symbolise the plight of their people.

The mood in the occupied West Bank is not normally festive, Battat's mother, Hanaa al-Hawarin, told the AFP news agency.

"The [Israeli] raids come every day," she said.

On Monday alone, five Palestinians were killed in Israeli invasion across the territory.

Israel has occupied the West Bank since the 1967 Arab-Israeli war, and its troops increasingly make incursions into Palestinian communities where faded national flags are flown.

Hours before Monday's match, the main shopping streets of Al-Khalil, the nearest city to the village, showed little sign of excitement about the fixture.

A few dozen kilometres away, the bombs are falling on Gaza in a war that has lasted for nearly four months.

Israel has killed 26,637 people and wounded 65,387 others so far in its brutal war on besieged Gaza.

At the sporting level, things are complicated. Local football championships in the occupied West Bank and Gaza have been suspended, and the Palestine team trains abroad.

Khaled al-Battat, the captain's father, said his pride in seeing his son wear the national colours is mixed with anger.

'His passion'

Khaled worked in construction in Israel before his permit to do so was suspended because of the war.

He said his son learned to control the ball in the village streets when he was a boy.

Musab began playing when he was 11, and always loved football. "If he didn't have a football, he made one — he could turn anything into a ball, even a plastic bag," his father told AFP.

"It's been his passion since he was small, and it just grew until he became captain of the national team," he said, eyes beaming with pride.

For the captain's mother, Hanaa, "if there had been no occupation, he could have reached an even higher level" in the sport.

She cited restrictions such as military roadblocks and the administrative red tape involved in him being allowed to go abroad to play — procedures that can take "weeks", and with no guarantee of success.

Just getting all of the players together from the occupied West Bank and besieged Gaza is a struggle in itself, she said.

But once the kick-off whistle blows, such worries are sidelined, if only for the duration of play, as the spectators cheer the team on.

Monday's final score was disappointing — a 2-1 victory for Qatar — but by no means was it an ignominious exit from the tournament.

"I'm proud of my brother and the other players," said Ismail al-Battat. "Getting to the last 16 is a good result. It's not the end of the road."

Long football history

The Palestinian Football Association [PFA] was established in 1928, 20 years before Israel was established.

PFA was accepted by FIFA in 1998.

Palestine expanded its football in the early 20th century, with many clubs emerging, many of which were location-based clubs and religiously affiliated clubs, including the Orthodox clubs in Jerusalem, the Islamic Club of Jaffa and the Islamic Club of Haifa.

As Zionists occupied Palestine and established Israel with the help of Western powers, many Jewish clubs from Europe also migrated to illegally occupied Palestinian territories over the years.

The growing sports sector in historic Palestine declined, especially after the killing of many Palestinian players and intentionally injuring them from their legs amid the illegal expansion of Israeli colonisers.