'An Arab won't check me': Israeli police beat Palestinian security guard at football match Submitted by MEE staff on Thu, 12/18/2025 - 12:46 Qays Haddad was repeatedly attacked by three plainclothes detectives and around 10 uniformed officers, he told Haaretz Beitar Jerusalem fans outside the Teddy Stadium on 19 January 2013, in Jerusalem (AFP/File photo/Menahem Kahana) Off A Palestinian citizen of Israel working as a security guard at a football match was brutally beaten by 13 police officers while on shift earlier this month, he told Haaretz in an interview published on Wednesday. Qays Haddad, 21, works as the head of a security team at events in Jerusalem, mainly at Pais Arena and Teddy Stadium. On 8 December, he told Haaretz, he was working at the latter during a derby between Beitar Jerusalem and Hapoel Jerusalem. Haddad said that while he was at the entrance, overseeing the scanning of tickets, three plainclothes detectives were among those entering the stadium. They did not initially introduce themselves, as required, Haddad recounted. He told them to slow down, and put his hand out to block their passage. Haddad recounted that one of them said: “Who are you to put your hand up like that?” and pushed him. “An Arab won’t check me.” That plainclothes detective then identified himself as a police officer. The three detectives then began beating up the Palestinian security guard, and took him to one side. “One of them held me by the head, took me to the police officers who were standing on the side and told them, 'I'm the police.' I thought to myself, 'Maybe they came to help me,' but about 13 police officers started beating me all over my body," he said. The uniformed officers handcuffed him, punched him repeatedly and swore at him, calling him an “Arab son of a bitch”. “All the policemen's hands were bloody from the beatings,” Haddad said. “I wasn't breathing, I couldn't see where I was. I was dizzy, and I passed out for a few minutes." קייס חדאד מותקף באיצטדיון טדי, בשבוע שעבר pic.twitter.com/2o1crADY6a — הארץ חדשות (@haaretznewsvid) December 16, 2025 Haddad said that although ambulances are supposed to have access to all areas of the stadium, there was a delay in one arriving at the scene. "We waited for half an hour," he said. "My face was all bloody, I was vomiting blood, I couldn't breathe, they were choking me. I have marks on my neck. I couldn't breathe." He went to file a police complaint the day after the incident, but a policewoman told him: “There's no way a brother can file a complaint for another brother.” Several days later, a complaint was eventually filed, and an investigation was opened. Over a week on from the attack, Haddad said he struggles to eat due to his injuries. He is also traumatised. British police chief reiterates 'legitimate' decision to ban Maccabi Tel Aviv fans Read More » “I wake up in the morning, and my head hurts. I can't sleep. But more than the head, my heart hurts. On Thursday… I heard an ambulance or police siren from the window. I jumped, thinking, 'What happened to me? This doesn't make sense.' I thought they were coming for me.” Haddad said that he would struggle to go back to work alongside police officers. He said that he is in a WhatsApp group with a large number of security guards who are Palestinian citizens of Israel, who are also afraid to work. “Because of this incident, there won't be any security guards left. There's already been a shortage since the war,” he said. Haddad said that he has many police officer friends, including Jewish Israelis, who told him not to be silent and to speak up about what happened. Israeli police said in a statement: “During preparations for a football game, a bouncer at the scene began to confront the police. If there are any complaints about the conduct of the police at the scene, they should be referred to the relevant authorities.” Kach flags and fines for racism The report comes after several developments relating to Israeli sports. On Monday, Beitar Jerusalem fans waved a flag of Rabbi Meir Kahane's Jewish supremacist Kach movement during a match against Bnei Sakhnin, one of the leading Palestinian teams in Israeli football. The Kach movement has been designated as a terrorist organisation by the Israeli government since 1994. German police have reportedly opened an investigation into the conduct of Maccabi Tel Aviv fans following a football match in Stuttgart on Thursday. The fans are suspected of offensive chants targeting Palestinians, actions now being reviewed as potential criminal offenses. pic.twitter.com/Jqq2caMJ0f — Middle East Eye (@MiddleEastEye) December 13, 2025 A day earlier, a security officer at a basketball match confiscated a T-shirt worn by a Hapoel Tel Aviv fan reading “Fck Bngvr”, a reference to National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir. Earlier in December, police stopped Hapoel Tel Aviv football fans from wearing T-shirts critical of the police, which led to hundreds of supporters leaving a match in protest. Elsewhere, Uefa announced on Wednesday that it had fined Maccabi Tel Aviv €20,000 ($23,400) for their fans' "racist and/or discriminatory behaviour" during a match last week against Stuttgart. A ban was imposed for the team’s next European away game, though the ban has been suspended for a probationary period of two years. Inside Israel News Post Date Override 0 Update Date Mon, 05/04/2020 - 21:19 Update Date Override 0