Iran Press/ Europe: Kuwaiti chess champion Fide Master Bader al-Hajri, who had secured first place in 2015’s “San Sebastian” championship in Spain, withdrew on Tuesday from Spain’s Sunway International Chess Championship as he refused to face an Israeli settler, Press TV reported.
Arab activists praised Fide Master Bader al-Hajri on social media as a champion of “rejecting Arab countries’ normalization” with the Israeli regime by rejecting to face “an Israeli settler.”
The social media activists stated that they are “proud of him” while noting that the Israelis must be “mad at him.”
This is not the first time a Kuwaiti player rejects to face a Israeli rival.
Last month, Kuwaiti fencer Mohamed al-Fadli withdrew from the World Fencing Championships held in the UAE to avoid facing a Israeli opponent.
Fadli also withdrew from an international tournament in Amsterdam in September 2019 after the draw placed him in a group competing with a Israeli player.
In January, teenage Kuwaiti tennis player Muhammad al-Awadi earned widespread laud for his support for the Palestinian cause after he withdrew from an international tennis tournament held in the UAE to avoid facing a Israeli opponent.
For years, many players from Muslim-majority countries have been taking the same stance, including Iran, Sudan, Libya, Algeria, and Lebanon.
The governments of Iran, Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, Qatar and Kuwait have also lambasted normalization deals between the Israeli regime and four Muslim countries, namely the UAE, Bahrain, Sudan, and Morocco, and have expressed their unwavering support for the Palestinian cause.
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