Former Balad head Azmi Bishara, who fled Israel after he was suspected of spying for the Hezbollah terrorist organization during the 2006 Second Lebanon War, is currently working in Qatar to prevent Israeli soccer fans from attending the World Cup, which the country will be hosting this November.
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Bishara settled in Qatar after fleeing Israel in 2007. Under the protection of the regime, he has also been serving as an advisor to Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani. Qatar also funds the Arab Center for Research and Policy Studies, which Bishara founded and chairs. Bishara has also received a diplomatic passport from the Qatari regime.
Recently, Bishara has launched a pressure campaign to discriminate against Israeli soccer fans that plan on attending the matches. According to rough estimates, some 15,000-30,000 Israelis plan on traveling to Qatar in late November.
Israel and Qatar do not maintain formal diplomatic relations. Doah often serves as a mediator between Israel and Hamas, the terrorist group controlling the Gaza Strip, and it has donated hundreds of millions of dollars in aid to support past ceasefires.
An Israeli official said earlier this week that he believed the matter would be resolved because Qatar has already promised FIFA, the sport's world governing body, that fans from all countries would be allowed to enter the country during the World Cup.
Perhaps further complicating the issue, Qatar-owned news channel Al Jazeera accused the Israeli military of killing one of its reporters in the city of Jenin on Wednesday, May 11. The IDF said the journalist, Shireen Abu Akleh, was killed in an exchange of fire between troops and Palestinian terrorists, and that the incident was under investigation.
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