Saeed Hassanain also dubbed the IDF an ‘occupation army’ and discouraged Arab-Israelis from joining the military
February 25, 2025 12:14
ByJC Reporter, Jewish News Syndicate
The former match announcer for Israel Premier League team Bnei Sakhnin FC has reportedly been arrested after an interview in which he labelled Hamas “humane” surfaced in Israeli media.
Saeed Hassanain, a long-time Israeli sports journalist, also urged Arab-Israeli citizens not to join the IDF, which he described as “the enemy’s army, the occupation army”.
Speaking to the Hamas-run Al-Aqsa TV, Hassanain remarked that the way Hamas treated female hostages during their captivity “proves conclusively who is the barbarian and who is the humane one” in the context of the war in Gaza.
In the interview, obtained and aired by Israel’s Channel 14, Hassanain said that freed hostage Omer Shem Tov kissed his captors’ forehead during the handover ceremony staged by Hamas “willingly, because he appreciates and respects what the person who held him did for him”.
“He who only thinks about joining the occupation army,” he continued, appealing to Arab-Israelis, “must think a million times where he is going and how he is selling his conscience, his moral compass and his religion on this immoral path”.
In response, Bnei Sakhnin, a prominent Arab-Israeli club, released an official statement saying that Hassanain had been sacked from his volunteer role as the team’s play-caller for home games and that “it was made clear to him that the things he said do not represent the club”.
Following the announcement of Hassanain’s dismissal, Israeli police raided his home and arrested him on suspicion of incitement, according to Haaretz.
Israeli Culture and Sports Minister Miki Zohar likewise condemned Hassanain’s comments.
“This is a slap in the face of the Israeli soccer league. Bnei Sakhnin club can’t be associated with such things, otherwise we will not be able to bridge the rifts in Israeli society,” Zohar said.
Israeli Football Leagues Administration chairman Erez Kalfon added in a letter sent the club: “We were shocked by the outrageous, false and unacceptable statements made by Mr Saeed Hassanain, who holds an official position within Bnei Sakhnin, as presented in his interview with Al-Aqsa TV – the television channel of the despicable terrorist organisation Hamas.
“These statements are, to say the least, unacceptable in Israeli society, and certainly in Israeli soccer.”
It follows the arrests of 12 people at a match in Be’er Sheva, when violent clashes broke out after Bnei Sakhnin supporters turned their backs during the playing of the national anthem.
Supporters of the home club, Hapoel Be’er Sheva, were enraged by the move and a brawl ensued when they stormed the pitch and beat the opposition fans with long sticks.
A dozen rioters were arrested as players and referees took shelter away from the pitch, while hundreds of people sprinted onto the turf to join in the fight.