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Football is supposed to be a game that unites people. In Israel, it has become something darker: a stage for racism, militarism and propaganda. From the stands of Beitar Jerusalem to the ruins of Gaza, sport and politics have fused in ways that reveal the deep entanglement of football with the state’s project of settler colonialism and ethnic cleansing.
A new report by the Hind Rajab Foundation sets out in stark detail how Israeli soldiers and ultras deploy football culture to humiliate Palestinians, glorify destruction and normalise genocide.  The Hind Rajab Foundation is gravely concerned about a serious and imminent security threat against our Chairman, Mr. Dyab Abou Jahjah, and his family.
Credible information indicates that individuals linked to Israeli security networks active in Antwerp, and with possible connections to extremist organizations such as the Jewish Defense League, are involved in this threat. There are also concerns that such structures may be connected to official Israeli state bodies.  The Hind Rajab Foundation (HRF) strongly condemns the recent U.S. sanctions against the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR), Al-Haq, and the Al Mezan Center for Human Rights. These illegitimate measures follow earlier sanctions on Addameer, UN Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese, and even the International Criminal Court (ICC) itself.
 The Givati Brigade Flag During Tomorrowland 2025 (pic resolution enhanced) Date: 30 July 2025
Brussels — The Hind Rajab Foundation acknowledges the communication from the Belgian Federal Prosecutor confirming that a criminal investigation was opened following our urgent complaint of 18 July 2025 concerning credible war crimes committed in Gaza by Israeli military personnel. Legal Explainer: What Is The Hague Group, and Why the Hind Rajab Foundation's Participation Matters17/7/2025
 Emergency Conference of States: July 2025 - Bogotá, Colombia
On July 16, 2025, 30 countries convened in Bogotá, Colombia, under the banner of The Hague Group to activate a coordinated legal response to the decades of Israel's impunity from prosecution under international law, which has culminated in the genocide in Gaza. The two-day conference and its Joint Statement on the Conclusion of the Emergency Conference on Palestine marked a defining moment in international legal history—the first time since the establishment of Israel that a multi-state alliance, including Belize, Bolivia, Colombia, Cuba, Honduras, Malaysia, Namibia, Senegal, and South Africa, committed to enforcing international law without political bias or delay. Unsurprisingly, no leading Western state endorsed the statement. However, Bogotá will be remembered as a turning point and historic moment as other states take the lead in restoring dignity of life to the world order and enforcing the inalienable tenets of international humanitarian law.  The Nakba (Catastrophe) of 1948 was the first major systemic campaign of violence carried out by the Zionist movement to dispossess and forcibly displace Palestinians from Historic Palestine. With the support and complicity of the Global North, this ethnic cleansing and mass expulsion campaign is now 77 years strong.
Whether you see the Nakba from the perspective of the "never-ending Nakba" or from "multiple Nakbas inflicted on the Palestinian people", one fact remains: If we were to measure the ideology of Zionism by its material manifestation in the past, it would be one of systemic and violent ethnic cleansing through mass dispossession, displacement, detention, state-sponsored terror campaigns, assassinations, and uniform killing. In its present, as Zionism has cemented its grip on violating international humanitarian law and the rights of the Palestinian people with utter impunity, this material manifestation has culminated into an ongoing genocide in Gaza, apartheid in the West Bank, and life as second-class citizens for Palestinians inside the territories occupied by Israel in 1948.  Since October 2023, Israel has been relentlessly attacking the Gaza Strip, causing over 50,000 deaths (though this is almost certainly an undercount) and the complete or partial destruction of over 80% of civilian infrastructure in Gaza. As part of this onslaught, Israel's armed forces have repeatedly attacked Palestinian healthcare workers, facilities and infrastructure, severely hampering the ability to treat the sick and wounded and leading to further suffering and thousands of preventable deaths.
Healthcare workers and facilities are protected under International Humanitarian Law—they are afforded, per the principle of medical neutrality, a baseline protection from attacks. The direct targeting of hospitals, doctors, nurses, paramedics and ambulances is a war crime—a war crime particularly calculated by Israel to accelerate the genocide and the extermination of all life in Gaza.  The Hind Rajab Foundation (HRF) will launch a coordinated legal and political campaign tomorrow to counter the visit of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu—currently wanted by the International Criminal Court (ICC)—to Hungary or anywhere in Europe.
Netanyahu is subject to an ICC arrest warrant for war crimes and crimes against humanity. Under his command, the Israeli military has overseen the killing of more than 61,000 Palestinians in Gaza, including over 17,000 children, alongside the widespread destruction of civilian infrastructure and the use of starvation as a weapon of war. These actions are not only morally indefensible—they are legally prosecutable under international law. Welcoming Netanyahu to Hungary—or facilitating his travel through European airspace—constitutes a direct violation of the legal obligations of ICC State Parties.  In another act of collective punishment upon the people of Gaza, the Israeli government announced on March 2nd, 2025 that it will resume the blockage of all aid into the Gaza Strip. The decision came as the first phase of the ceasefire expired—Israel refused to proceed with the second phase of the ceasefire, which called for full Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip. Instead, Israel suggested a US-drafted plan to extend the first phase of the ceasefire, a delay tactic which was not outlined in the original ceasefire agreement and indeed, ran contra to the agreement. The already fragile and continuously breached ceasefire agreement was once again violated by Israel. Israel's refusal to begin negotiations on the second phase was largely tied to its refusal allow mobile homes into Gaza despite the responsibility to do so under the agreement. This denial has left infants exposed to harsh winter conditions without shelter, ultimately resulting in the deaths of seven Gazan infants so far.
After 15 months of relentless and indiscriminate attacks by Israel, the destruction in the Gaza Strip is immense. Initial estimates suggest that up to 80% of civilian infrastructure in Gaza has been destroyed or damaged. Horrific images emerging from Gaza show entire neighborhoods reduced to rubble. It is vital to emphasize that the destruction and targeting of civilian infrastructure constitute both a grave war crime and a crime against humanity—highlighted in recent cases brought to courts by the Hind Rajab Foundation.
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