Israeli basketball fans attacked while in Spain for tournament

A brawl broke out between Israeli sports fans and people waving Palestinian flags in Bilbao, Spain, on Sunday, ahead of Hapoel Holon’s Final Four loss in the FIBA Basketball Champions League tournament.

The fight began when a group of people, identified in Israel’s press as locals, started waving Palestinian flags and shouting chants against Israel in the area of the town where fans of Hapoel Holon fans were staying, according to a Walla news report that appeared to rely on the accounts of Israeli fans.

The latter group responded by singing the Hatikva national anthem and hurling insults at the rival group. The situation quickly deteriorated from there.

Footage from scene showed people on a street flinging chairs and other objects at each other as smoke filled the air. Sirens and screams can be heard in the background.

There were no reports of injuries as a result of the brawl.

Hapoel Holon was in Bilbao to compete in the consolation game of the international basketball championship. It lost 88-68, to MHP Riesen Ludwigsburg, which took third place.

תיעוד: קרבות רחוב בין אוהדי הפועל חולון לתושבי בילבאו לפני משחקה של הקבוצה הערב על המקום ה-3 בליגת האלופות בכדורסל. לטענת האוהדים, הם הותקפו על ידי כמה אנשים ממסעדה סמוכה@lianwildau @hadasgrinberg pic.twitter.com/Fpy1Goiv75

— כאן חדשות (@kann_news) May 8, 2022

According to Walla, Israeli fans are regularly harassed while visiting Spain for games.

Likud MK Yuli Edelstein tweeted that he was “appalled by the manifestations of violence suffered by Hapoel Holon fans from the gangs of supporters of Palestinian terrorism in Bilbao.”

פרו פלסטינים מהבר ליד האולם מתחילים להשליך כסאות וכל הבא ליד על אוהדי הפועל חולון שמתארחים בפיינל פור בבילבאו. עוד סרטונים בציוצים הבאים pic.twitter.com/2gfYoJ7JXV

— Rotem Drob (@DrobRotem) May 8, 2022

He called for FIBA and Spanish authorities to recognize the phenomenon and do more to protect visiting Israeli fans.