Israel release explosive statement after Norway pledge all earnings from World Cup qualifier to Gaza

The Israel FA have released a statement after Norway announced it would donate profits from the upcoming 2026 World Cup qualifier between the two nations to 'a humanitarian cause' in Gaza.

The two nations will face off in Oslo on October 11.

Norway are currently top of Group H having won all four of their games, with Israel in second on six points from three matches.

With Italy three points further back in third but with two games in hand on Norway, the outcome of the match could prove pivotal in deciding who will qualify automatically for the World Cup.

Norway's successes so far include a 3-0 win over Italy in June, and a 4-2 win away against Israel in March.

In the build-up to tickets going on sale for the fixture, the Norwegian Football Federation has announced that it will donate all of the profits to a 'humanitarian cause' in the Palestinian territory of Gaza.

Over 80,000 people have been killed in Gaza since the beginning of the Israel-Hamas war in October 2023, including 17,000 children, as per the Gaza health ministry.

The situation in the territory has been described as increasingly dire, and the United Nations have stressed that Gaza has hit two out of the three famine thresholds for food consumption and acute malnutrition.

It has urged for significantly more humanitarian aid to be allowed to enter Gaza, describing the current crisis as 'a disaster unfolding in front of our eyes'.

Now, Norwegian FA president Lise Klaveness has stated: "Neither we nor other organisations can have an indifferent attitude to the humanitarian suffering and the disproportionate attacks that the civilian population in Gaza has been subjected to for a long time.

"Israel is part of FIFA's and UEFA's competitions and we must deal with that. But we want to give the profits to a humanitarian organisation that saves lives in Gaza every day and that contributes with active emergency aid on the ground."

In December, Klaveness called for 'an immediate halt to the disproportionate attacks on innocent civilians in Gaza'.

The Israel FA has now released a scathing statement on the matter to The Telegraph.

The statement reads: "We do not usually advise associations regarding the use of match revenue, even if it is obtained thanks to a match against our proud national team, but we will deviate from our custom this time.

"It would be nice if some of the amount were directed to try to finding a condemnation by the Norwegian FA of the October 7 massacre that claimed the lives of hundreds of Israeli citizens and children, or action in favour of the release of 50 hostages - and please, make sure that the money is not transferred to terrorist organisations or to whale hunting.

"We are also aiming to gain three points."

While the 2026 World Cup qualifiers are only just getting underway in Europe, they have almost reached their completion in Asia.

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Palestine - most of whose squad now play domestic football outside of the nation - made it to the third round but finished fifth in their six-team group over 10 matches, with the bottom two teams unable to progress further in the competition.

They drew 1-1 to Oman in their final fixture via a controversial injury-time penalty, which knocked them out and sent Oman through. The Palestine FA called the penalty decision 'clearly unfair'.