Israeli minister criticizes Barcelona star Lamine Yamal for waving Palestinian flag

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BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Israel's defense minister has criticized Barcelona’s teenage star Lamine Yamal for his waving of a Palestinian flag during celebrations of the Spanish league title win, saying the act “incites hate.”

“Lamine Yamal chose to incite hate against Israel while our soldiers combat the terrorist organization Hamas, an organization that massacred, raped and burned Jewish children, women and the elderly on Oct. 7, (2023)” minister Israel Katz wrote on X on Thursday.

The 18-year-old Yamal waved a large Palestinian flag from an open-top bus during a victory parade by Barcelona’s team through the city on Monday. The parade drew some 750,000 people to celebrate the league title clinched the previous day, local authorities said.

Yamal, who is Muslim, posted pictures of him holding the flag on his Instagram account.

Spain’s government and a large part of its population have been highly critical of Israel’s military operations that killed tens of thousands of Palestinians in Gaza in response to the 2023 Hamas surprise attack.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, who has previously called for Israel to be banned from sports events over its actions in Gaza, defended Yamal on social media.

“Those who consider waving a state’s flag to be ‘inciting hatred’ have either lost their minds or been blinded by their own ignominy,” Sanchez wrote on X. “Lamine has simply expressed the solidarity with Palestine that millions of Spaniards feel. Yet another reason to be proud of him.”

There has been a global backlash against Israel over the humanitarian toll of the war in Gaza, which has spread to sport and culture. Protests have been seen in soccer, cycling and basketball. Last year's Spanish Vuelta was repeatedly disrupted by protesters angry with the participation of an Israeli-backed cycling team.

Spain is also one of five countries boycotting this year’s Eurovision Song Contest to protest Israel’s inclusion.

Yamal is set to star for Spain at next month’s World Cup to be played in North America.

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