Israeli defence minister accuses Barcelona footballer of ‘inciting hate’ for waving Palestine flag

<article data-history-node-id="440286" about="https://www.middleeasteye.net/live-blog/live-blog-update/israeli-defence-minister-accuses-barcelona-footballer-inciting-hate" class="live-blog-update default clearfix"> <h2> <a href="https://www.middleeasteye.net/live-blog/live-blog-update/israeli-defence-minister-accuses-barcelona-footballer-inciting-hate" rel="bookmark"> <span class="field field-title">Israeli defence minister accuses Barcelona footballer of ‘inciting hate’ for waving Palestine flag</span> </a> </h2> <div class="content"> <div class="field field-field-text"><p style="line-height:1.38">Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz criticised the Barcelona football player Lamine Yamal who raised a Palestinian flag during a victory parade by the team through Barcelona on Monday.</p> <p>In a statement posted on X, Katz said that the 18-year-old football star was “inciting hatred” against Israel and “supporting terrorism” for waving the flag and called on FC Barcelona to distance themselves from him.</p> <figure role="group" class="media-block"> <div class="group-inner"> <div alt="Palestinian artists paint a mural depicting football player Lamine Yamal waving a Palestinian flag during the Catalans' title parade, on the rubble of buildings destroyed during the war, at Shati (Beach) refugee camp in Gaza City on May 13, 2026. Omar AL-QATTAA / AFP" data-embed-button="file_browser" data-entity-embed-display="image:image" data-entity-embed-display-settings="{" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="a1b088b8-08c0-4814-889d-cb9387d5c642" data-langcode="en" class="embedded-entity"> <img src="https://www.middleeasteye.net/sites/default/files/000_B2RE4PW.jpg" width="1920" height="1080" alt="Palestinian artists paint a mural depicting football player Lamine Yamal waving a Palestinian flag during the Catalans' title parade, on the rubble of buildings destroyed during the war, at Shati (Beach) refugee camp in Gaza City on May 13, 2026. Omar AL-QATTAA / AFP" typeof="foaf:Image" fetchpriority="high"> </div> <figcaption>Palestinian artists paint a mural of football player Lamine Yamal on rubble of buildings destroyed during the war in Gaza City on 13 May 2026 (Omar al-Qattaa/AFP)</figcaption> </div> </figure> <p><span style="background: url(&quot;https://www.middleeasteye.net/modules/contrib/ckeditor/vendor/plugins/widget/images/handle.png&quot;) rgba(220, 220, 220, 0.5); top: -15px; left: 0px;"><img height="15" role="presentation" src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAPABAP///wAAACH5BAEKAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAICRAEAOw==" title="Click and drag to move" width="15" loading="lazy"></span></p> </div> </div> </article>