Saudi football fans are delighted about their national team's historic match Tuesday against their Palestinian "brothers" in the occupied West Bank, but dismiss suggestions it marks a gradual normalisation of ties between the kingdom and Israel.
Arab clubs and national teams have historically refused to play in the Palestinian territories -- occupied by the Jewish state since 1967 -- as it requires obtaining entry permits to Israel, a country most of them do not recognise.
"This is not a normalisation. It is still occupied Palestine. For Saudi Arabia, there is no state called Israel," football fan Saad told AFP, his eyes locked on a screen playing a Saudi match in a cafe along Tahlia street, a restaurant-lined thoroughfare.
"It is a good thing to support sport in Palestine given the situation there," said the 27-year-old.
"The Palestinian cause remains a fundamental one for Saudi Arabia."
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