Israeli minister seeks to strip citizenship of Palestinian footballer over Gaza support

Israeli Culture and Sports Minister Miki Zohar has requested that the citizenship of Ataa Jaber, an athlete who plays football for the Palestinian national team, be revoked, according to Israeli media. 

The call came after the football player, a Palestinian citizen of Israel, observed a minute's silence for Gaza during a match against Lebanon last week.

In a letter to Interior Minister Moshe Arbel, Zohar requested that Jaber's citizenship be revoked due to his “clear identification with terrorists”.

“During the game, Jaber expressed identification with the enemy when he stood for a minute of silence in memory of ‘the victims in Gaza’ while ignoring the murdered on the Israeli side and identifying with the Nazi terrorist organisation Hamas,” the minister said.