2023-07-12 04:08:41
The Israeli national anthem was played in the Saudi capital, Riyadh, on Tuesday, on the sidelines of the World Electronic Football Championship.
Israeli media outlets published video clips on social media showing footage of Israeli players raising their country’s flag amidst the national anthem.
Israel’s ambassador to Norway wrote on Twitter: “The Israeli flag and the national anthem are in Saudi Arabia. Israeli players are participating in the FIFA video game tournament hosted by Riyadh.”
The Israeli ambassador, Avi Nir-Feldklin, said in the same tweet that “pragmatism is the only way to secure peace and reconciliation.”
According to the siteGamerThe Israeli national anthem will be played in Saudi Arabia, probably for the first time in history.
And Israeli media reported that the Israeli electronic games team, ranked second in the world, traveled to Riyadh via the Emirates and entered the Gulf kingdom with Israeli passports.
Saudi Arabia does not recognize Israel, nor did it join the Abraham Treaty, according to which Israel’s relations with the UAE and Bahrain were normalized in the summer of 2020 with American mediation.
This global tournament will be held in Riyadh, hosted by the Saudi Federation for Electronic Sports, from 16 to 19 April, as part of the “Gamers Season”, with a total prize pool of $3 billion.
Although there are no official relations between the two countries, Israeli journalists, businessmen and other personalities have been allowed to visit the kingdom in recent years, according to the Times of Israel.
The director of the Israeli team, Zvika Kosman, told the Kan public broadcaster that he worked with the International Football Association Board (FIFA), which oversees the organization of this tournament, to ensure that the Saudis allow the team to enter the country.
He added that the Saudi authorities wrote a letter confirming that all participants were allowed to enter the country, without specifying the Israelis.
He stated that there had been no direct contact between the Israeli and Saudi governments, and that FIFA had relayed the messages.
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