Israeli footballer Menashe Zalka, who plays for Hapoel Hadera in the Israeli Premier League, has been filmed participating in a military operation in southern Lebanon. In a video posted by Israel’s Channel 14 and verified by Al Jazeera, Zalka is seen in Israeli army uniform firing a machine gun and throwing a grenade. According to Israeli media reports, the 35-year-old serves as a reservist in the army’s paratrooper brigade. The footage purportedly shows him and another soldier firing from a damaged building in a residential area in southern Lebanon.
Palestinian football official Susan Shalabi, Vice President of the Palestinian Football Association (PFA), termed Zalka’s involvement in the military assault “unacceptable”. In a post on X, she wrote: “Israel’s Channel 14 celebrates the trigger-happy captain of Hapoel Hadera, Menashe Zalka, as he throws a grenade and shoots around in southern Lebanon.” This incident has prompted renewed calls from football officials and fans for FIFA to ban the Israeli Football Association (IFA), which was recently fined 150,000 Swiss francs ($189,000) by the sport’s global governing body.
FIFA’s disciplinary committee found the IFA guilty of “multiple breaches” of anti-discrimination obligations on March 19, but did not suspend the Israeli body despite requests from the PFA and rights groups. In October 2024, the PFA reported allegations of discrimination by the IFA to FIFA, which initiated an investigation but took no action against the Israeli association. The committee’s decision listed several incidents of racism in Israeli football, noting the IFA’s failure to “abide by FIFA’s statutory objectives”.
Football fans and experts have accused FIFA and UEFA of double standards for failing to act against Israel despite its genocidal war on Gaza, while swiftly sanctioning Russia following Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Football writer Leyla Hamed stated: “FIFA is aware of Israeli players’ involvement in war crimes – yet does nothing,” adding, “Kicking a ball on weekends, committing atrocities on weekdays.” A fan described Israel’s presence in European competitions as “an insult”, arguing that teams should not be expected to play against “a genocidal state”.
Israeli air strikes and ground attacks continue across the Gaza Strip, according to Palestinian officials, amid the ongoing genocidal war against Palestinians in the besieged territory, despite a United States-brokered “ceasefire”. Palestinians in the occupied West Bank also face an outpouring of violence, including attacks from settlers. This comes as Israel’s invasion of Lebanon and the US-Israeli war on Iran escalate, highlighting broader regional tensions.
Source: www.aljazeera.com