The Israeli Minister of Defense attacks Lamine Yamal for waving the Palestinian flag

BarcelonaIsrael Katz, Israeli Defense Minister, has lashed out at Lamine Yamal for , on Monday in Barcelona. In a tweet in Spanish, Katz accused the Barça star of "inciting hatred", and resorted to the mantra that defending Palestinians is supporting terrorism. Katz has asked Barça to distance itself from it.

Yamal waved the Palestinian flag for nearly five minutes from the bus, and it was he himself who asked for it from a fan who was carrying it, while following the parade. The player did not shy away from the cameras while waving it: many fans captured an image that ended up going around the world. The same footballer, who has not publicly commented on the ongoing genocide, published the photograph within a carousel of images on his Instagram account, where he has 42 million followers.

The gesture of the Barça star also reached the streets of Gaza. Two Palestinian artists, Ahmed al-Halabi and Abu al-Qarasli, painted a mural on Tuesday with Yamal brandishing the flag on a wall of a bombed building in the Strip.

This social network is the same one he used just over a month ago to condemn the racist insults that occurred during the Spain-Egypt match played on March 31. "I know that [the chants] were aimed at the rival team [Egypt], but as a Muslim person it is still a lack of respect and an intolerable thing [...]. To those who sing these things: using religion as a mockery leaves you as ignorant and racist people," published the star of Barça and the backbone of the state team on Instagram. Everything he shares on his account has his final approval. Everything.

Even the Spanish president, Pedro Sánchez, referred to it on Tuesday. In contrast, the Barça coach, Hansi Flick, said he did not like the gesture. The player's father, Mounir, with a post on Instagram, also defended his son's gesture during the parade.

Yamal's entourage had indeed shown their solidarity with the Palestinian people. Another of the blaugrana star's favorites is Morad, who has also shown sensitivity to the cause of the Palestinian people. Morad, like other world-renowned artists such as Rosalía or Bad Gyal, was one of the participants in the massive concert-manifest organized by the solidarity platform Act x Palestine in Barcelona on January 29th. Pep Guardiola, former player and former coach of Barça and for nine seasons coach of Manchester City, also spoke on the matter.

Several world-renowned athletes have taken a stand alongside the Palestinian people. On a global stage like the 2022 Football World Cup, many of the Moroccan national team players, as well as their coach at the 2022 World Cup, Walid Regragui, celebrated their victories by carrying Palestinian flags on the pitch. Former Real Madrid players Karim Benzema and Mesut Özil, Liverpool icon Mohamed Salah, NBA star Kyrie Irving, and Olympic medalist Ana Peleteiro are other world-class athletes who have condemned the genocide.