GAZA – Palestinian footballer Mohammed Abu Bayad, whose leg was amputated after being injured by Israeli fire, has become the first to score using crutches in a football match in Gaza.
Using his crutches Abu Bayad ran as fast as he could, kicked the ball and scored a goal becoming the first to score in a football match between Palestinians whose legs were amputated after they were hit by Israeli fire.
“I played football before I was injured and my life changed, but I was determined to continue,” said Abu Bayad, at a stadium west of Gaza City.
After a break of a few months due to the coronavirus pandemic, the tournament between four clubs culminated Thursday in the final, organized by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and the Palestinian Football Association.
Abu Bayad was shot by the Israeli army in 2014 during the last war between Israel and Gaza’s rulers, the armed Islamist movement Hamas.
According to the United Nations, some 8,000 other Palestinians were injured by Israeli army fire during the “great march of return” protests that started in March 2018.
For several months, thousands of Palestinians gathered along the barrier between the Gaza Strip and the Jewish state, heavily guarded by the Israeli army.
They were demanding an end to the decade-long Israeli blockade on the enclave.
They also demanded the right of Palestinians to return to the lands they fled, or were driven from, when Israel was created in 1948.
Ahmed Abu Nar, who also scored a goal for his team, lost his left leg during those protests.
“It was very difficult when I was wounded,” he said. “Playing football helps me psychologically and physically, and makes me happy.”
His teammate Mohammad Abu Samra said his interest in the game grew after his injury.
“I wanted to challenge myself and prove to the Israeli enemy that we will not surrender,” Abu Samra said.
For ICRC spokesman Hesham Mhanna, the players are “heroes,” “victims of armed conflicts” who send a message that it is possible to overcome obstacles stemming from disability.
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In Gaza, loss of a leg doesn’t deter ‘hero’ footballers
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In Gaza, loss of a leg doesn’t deter ‘hero’ footballers
- Footballer Mohammed Abu Bayad, who plays using crutches, played football before he was injured and his life changed but was determined to continue
- International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and Palestinian Football Association co-organized a four-club tournament after few-month break due to coronavirus pandemic in Gaza
US firm involved in defunct Gaza aid scheme recruits new officers, website shows
JERUSALEM: The US security firm that deployed armed military veterans to Gaza to guard aid sites run by a now-defunct distribution operation is seeking to hire Arabic-speaking contractors with combat experience, according to job listings on its website.
North Carolina-based UG Solutions, which provided security for the US- and Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation last year, did not immediately respond to a request for comment on its new job listings or say whether it was planning new Gaza operations or security operations elsewhere in the region.
The GHF, which was shut down following a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in October, had faced criticism from the United Nations and other international bodies over the deaths of hundreds of Palestinians trying to reach its aid sites.
It had bypassed the UN and the established aid agencies operating in Gaza to distribute food at sites mostly located away from much of the population and near Israeli forces. UG Solutions provided the GHF with security contractors to guard aid transport and distribution.
The GHF did not respond to a request for comment sent to its press email. It consistently defended its approach to security during the months it operated in Gaza.
Palestinians could regard any return of UG Solutions to the enclave as troubling because of the violence that took place during GHF distributions last year.
“The GHF and those who stand behind it have Palestinian blood on their hands; they are not welcome to return to Gaza,” said Amjad Al-Shawa, head of the Palestinian NGOs Network, which liases with UN and international humanitarian agencies.
’GO-TO SECURITY FIRM’
When the GHF shut down, UG Solutions said it remained “the go-to security firm to help those focused on rebuilding and delivering aid” as envisaged in US President Donald Trump’s plan to end the war.
One of the jobs on the firm’s website, an International Humanitarian Security Officer, would involve “securing key infrastructure, facilitating humanitarian efforts, and ensuring stability in a dynamic environment.” Preferred credentials include proficiency with “small arms weapons.”
Another, targeting only female candidates, is for a Cultural Support Officer who would ensure “safe, effective, and culturally appropriate aid distribution.”
Both listings say UG Solutions is seeking to hire multiple officers, without delineating how many. They both list Arabic proficiency as a preferred qualification. The security officer role lists four or more years of active duty deployment as a preferred credential.
The job listings did not specify a place of work for the roles, and Gaza is not mentioned. Apart from Gaza, UG Solutions has not been publicly linked with operations in other Arabic-speaking locations.
TRUMP PLAN
Trump’s plan for Gaza calls for a surge in humanitarian aid, for Israel to withdraw after Hamas lays down its arms, and for the territory to be rebuilt under the supervision of a “Board of Peace” led by the US President.
The Board is holding a meeting in Washington next week that is expected to serve in part as a fundraiser. Those funds would help pay for a plan envisaged by Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, that would see Gaza rebuilt in stages, beginning in Rafah in a southern area under Israeli military control.
Rafah is where the GHF stood up three of its four aid locations, the routes to which drew Palestinians desperate for food. Israeli forces killed hundreds of Palestinians trying to seek aid at GHF sites, according to Gaza health officials and the United Nations, which called the operations inherently dangerous and a violation of humanitarian principles that require aid distribution to be conducted safely.
The Israeli military has acknowledged that some Palestinians were hurt without saying how many. It says its soldiers fired to control crowds and quell immediate threats, and it changed procedures following the incidents.
UG Solutions is hiring for at least 15 roles within its defense division, including the International Humanitarian Security Officer and the Cultural Support Officer. Those roles’ work locations are marked as ‘Worldwide’. The other 13 roles are marked as “remote” within the US, with travel required.
North Carolina-based UG Solutions, which provided security for the US- and Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation last year, did not immediately respond to a request for comment on its new job listings or say whether it was planning new Gaza operations or security operations elsewhere in the region.
The GHF, which was shut down following a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in October, had faced criticism from the United Nations and other international bodies over the deaths of hundreds of Palestinians trying to reach its aid sites.
It had bypassed the UN and the established aid agencies operating in Gaza to distribute food at sites mostly located away from much of the population and near Israeli forces. UG Solutions provided the GHF with security contractors to guard aid transport and distribution.
The GHF did not respond to a request for comment sent to its press email. It consistently defended its approach to security during the months it operated in Gaza.
Palestinians could regard any return of UG Solutions to the enclave as troubling because of the violence that took place during GHF distributions last year.
“The GHF and those who stand behind it have Palestinian blood on their hands; they are not welcome to return to Gaza,” said Amjad Al-Shawa, head of the Palestinian NGOs Network, which liases with UN and international humanitarian agencies.
’GO-TO SECURITY FIRM’
When the GHF shut down, UG Solutions said it remained “the go-to security firm to help those focused on rebuilding and delivering aid” as envisaged in US President Donald Trump’s plan to end the war.
One of the jobs on the firm’s website, an International Humanitarian Security Officer, would involve “securing key infrastructure, facilitating humanitarian efforts, and ensuring stability in a dynamic environment.” Preferred credentials include proficiency with “small arms weapons.”
Another, targeting only female candidates, is for a Cultural Support Officer who would ensure “safe, effective, and culturally appropriate aid distribution.”
Both listings say UG Solutions is seeking to hire multiple officers, without delineating how many. They both list Arabic proficiency as a preferred qualification. The security officer role lists four or more years of active duty deployment as a preferred credential.
The job listings did not specify a place of work for the roles, and Gaza is not mentioned. Apart from Gaza, UG Solutions has not been publicly linked with operations in other Arabic-speaking locations.
TRUMP PLAN
Trump’s plan for Gaza calls for a surge in humanitarian aid, for Israel to withdraw after Hamas lays down its arms, and for the territory to be rebuilt under the supervision of a “Board of Peace” led by the US President.
The Board is holding a meeting in Washington next week that is expected to serve in part as a fundraiser. Those funds would help pay for a plan envisaged by Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, that would see Gaza rebuilt in stages, beginning in Rafah in a southern area under Israeli military control.
Rafah is where the GHF stood up three of its four aid locations, the routes to which drew Palestinians desperate for food. Israeli forces killed hundreds of Palestinians trying to seek aid at GHF sites, according to Gaza health officials and the United Nations, which called the operations inherently dangerous and a violation of humanitarian principles that require aid distribution to be conducted safely.
The Israeli military has acknowledged that some Palestinians were hurt without saying how many. It says its soldiers fired to control crowds and quell immediate threats, and it changed procedures following the incidents.
UG Solutions is hiring for at least 15 roles within its defense division, including the International Humanitarian Security Officer and the Cultural Support Officer. Those roles’ work locations are marked as ‘Worldwide’. The other 13 roles are marked as “remote” within the US, with travel required.
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