Bethlehem, occupied West Bank – The floodlights came on at al-Khader Stadium, and for a few hours, the scene looked almost ordinary. Young men sang from the stands as families settled into their seats and children ran along the front row. On the pitch, the Arab Orthodox Beit Jala and Dheisheh Youth football teams warmed up. Then the whistle blew. The teams traded chances as fans cheered, groaned and shouted at the referee. It was the first organised competition Palestinian clubs had played in nearly three years. People began rising from their seats to see what was happening. From the pitch, Beit Jala’s 20-year-old Cesar Sarras watched the crowd turn towards the noise. “I was afraid when I saw all the fans getting up,” he told Al Jazeera.
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