Israeli former Celtic player Nir Bitton slams the club’s ‘brainwashed’ fans after they held up ‘Free Palestine’ and ‘Victory to the resistance’ banners at Parkhead following Hamas militants’ attack on the country
- Hamas launched raids into Israeli territory on Saturday, leaving hundreds dead
- Celtic fans showed support for Palestine by holding up banners ahead of game
Former Celtic player Nir Bitton has slammed the club’s fans after they held up banners in support of Palestine.
On Saturday, Hamas launched thousands of rockets into Israel as their fighters stormed over the border in the biggest incursion for decades.
Reports say 300 civilians have been killed in Israel with dozens taken hostage, while retaliatory attacks by Israeli forces have killed 313 in the Gaza Strip.
Israel international midfielder Bitton, who spent nine years at Celtic and now plays for Maccabi Tel Aviv, condemned the ‘Free Palestine’ and ‘Victory to the Resistance’ banners held up by the Green Brigade Ultras ahead of Saturday’s Scottish Premiership match with Kilmarnock.
Posting an image of the show of support on his Instagram account, Bitton wrote: ‘Shame on you!!! Yes free Gaza from Hamas not from Israel!!
Celtic supporters held up banners that read ‘Free Palestine’ and ‘Victory to the Resistance’ after Hamas militants launched raids on Israeli territory on Saturday
Israeli former Celtic player Nir Bitton condemned the club’s fans’ show of support for Palestine in and Instagram message
A number of Palestinian flags were on display at Parkhead as Celtic played Kilmarnock
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‘Supporting terror organisation who’s proudly celebrating the slaughtering of families is absolutely crazy!! Embarrassing.
‘Most of you don’t even know where Israel is!! You have zero clue about this conflict and you still act like you know everything.
‘As a father for 3 kids I want to see how you react when your innocent kids getting slaughtered and kidnapped in front of your eyes!
‘And please don’t tell me this is what Israel do to Palestinians because this is far from being true!!
‘Stop being brainwashed and biased and educate yourself with facts!!’
Celtic fans have often shown support for Palestine in the past, with the country’s flag a regular fixture at their matches.
Bitton later responded to the ‘hate’ shown towards him by Celtic fans after his initial post.
‘I was never silent and always supported Israel,’ he posted. ‘The thing is that we never experienced a day like today before.
Israeli forces launched retaliatory strikes on Gaza City after Hamas militants launched incursions into their territory in the biggest escalation in decades
People assess the destruction cause by Israeli air strikes in Gaza City on Saturday. Israel has launched a counterstrike against Hamas militants after a sneak attack that killed hundreds
‘We can deal with rockets above us… unfortunately its part of our kids’ daily routine but for hundreds of terrorists to come into Israel and slaughter full families, kids, elderly people and stepping on them and kidnapping them and celebrating like monsters this is a red line that we must not accept regardless [of] who you are and where you [come] from.’
Israel’s counter-offensive against Hamas in the Gaza Strip was well underway on Sunday morning following the deadliest day of violence in the region for 50 years.
Israeli warplanes bombed Gaza City in retaliatory strikes after Hamas’s shock attack, while in the north artillery strikes were carried out in Lebanon after mortar fire from there directed towards Israeli territory.
Hamas claimed to have fired 5,000 rockets into Israel from the occupied Gaza Strip, setting off air raid sirens in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem
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