The Palestinian population in the West Bank and Gaza Strip is considered a young population, in terms of age, and also a male population, in terms of gender, where many of them are fans of different types of sports, mainly football.

    "International football must be a message of peace all over the world. We love very much watching the World Cup games regardless of the hard situation we pass through," said Ismail al-Khatib, a Palestinian football player.

    Al-Khatib said that he supports Tunisia and Saudi Arabia, the two Arab countries, who are participating in the World Cup football competition, adding "but in general I support the good teams, mainly Brazil and Japan."

    The World Cup season and the final exams for Palestinian high-school pupils as well as colleges and universities students usually coincide.

    "I'm a football fan. This year, I will graduate from the college of science, and my final exams will coincide with the World Cup matches," said Hassan Sa'dallah, a student from Gaza.

    He added that four years ago "exactly at this time, I was studying and preparing for the final high-school exams, and this time the World Cup is coinciding with my final college exams."

    "But never mind, I will study during the day, and will watch television in the evening. I got the schedule of the matches from the Internet, and I would fix it in order not to contradict with my studying schedule," he said. Enditem