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Israeli Teen Wins Jiu-Jitsu Gold Medal After Emirati Opponent Gets Disqualified for Threatening Gesture
Patras, Greece. Photo: Wikimedia Commons.
An Israeli teen jiu-jitsu athlete was awarded the gold medal of an international competition in Crete, Greece, on Monday after his opponent from the United Arab Emirates, who initially won the match, was disqualified for making a throat-cutting hand gesture toward his Israeli rival.
Daniel Boaron, 13, was named the winner of the 2024 Ju-Jitsu World Championship in the under-14 division and under-48 kg (106 lb) weight class, even though he had initially lost to his Emirati opponent Ahmed Alketbi in the final match of the competition.
A video from the match shows that after Alketbi’s initial victory, he turned to the audience and made a throat-cutting gesture that was directed at Boaron. In the clip, a member of the audience can be heard yelling at the referee, trying to get his attention about the gesture that Boaron made. It was also brought to the attention of Amir Boaron, Daniel’s father who is also the team coach. The coach approached the judges about the incident and demanded that Alketbi be disqualified, he told i24News. After two hours of deliberation, the judges disqualified the Emirati competitor, and the gold medal was awarded to Daniel.
“From the first day of the competition, the competitors from the Muslim countries such as Kazakhstan, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar did not behave well towards us, did not shake hands, booed from the crowd, shouted ‘Free Palestine,’” Amir said, as reported by Ynet. “The United Arab Emirates behaved more nicely, and it turned out that this country had a competitor in the final. The opponent beat Daniel by two points and signaled to the audience as if he was slaughtering. This is inappropriate behavior and the judges disqualified him from the podium.”
The coach added that Alketbi apologized for the gesture, claiming that he did it out of excitement for initially winning the match. “I told him I accept the forgiveness,” Amir said. “But there are the rules … an athlete has rules, and if you behave like that, you shouldn’t win the gold.”
Daniel explained that he was “very moved” by the gold medal and said of his opponent: “I hope I’ll meet him again at the next final, to beat him on the mat, and to embrace him afterward, because he should know, you can’t bring politics into the sport.”
Olympic medal-winning Israeli judoka Sagi Muki slammed Alketbi for the offensive gesture in a video posted on Instagram. Muki called the gesture “shocking” and said, “Sport should be a unifying factor. All sports people in the world must take advantage of this platform because, ultimately, sport is pure.”
Muki talked about similarly facing hatred from other athletes who have animus toward the state of Israel. He cited an incident at the 2019 World Judo Championship semifinals in Tokyo, Japan, when his rival from Egypt refused to shake his hand after Muki won their bout.
“It’s precisely through sport that we can connect free of all politics and we athletes must use this stage to foster understanding so that the whole world can watch, love sports, and connect with each other,” Muki said. “Take advantage of this stage, and I hope that we’ll never see things like what we just saw ever again.”
“We’ve run into hostile reactions since the start of the championship, from the audience as well as from a number of the competitors, such as those from Kazakhstan and Saudi Arabia,” he added. “We feel the hate toward Israel, but it won’t help them at all, because we’re proud to keep representing our one Jewish state, and the anthem will continue to be heard.”
The post Israeli Teen Wins Jiu-Jitsu Gold Medal After Emirati Opponent Gets Disqualified for Threatening Gesture first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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After False Dawns, Gazans Hope Trump Will Force End to Two-Year-Old War
Palestinians walk past a residential building destroyed in previous Israeli strikes, after Hamas agreed to release hostages and accept some other terms in a US plan to end the war, in Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa
Exhausted Palestinians in Gaza clung to hopes on Saturday that US President Donald Trump would keep up pressure on Israel to end a two-year-old war that has killed tens of thousands and displaced the entire population of more than two million.
Hamas’ declaration that it was ready to hand over hostages and accept some terms of Trump’s plan to end the conflict while calling for more talks on several key issues was greeted with relief in the enclave, where most homes are now in ruins.
“It’s happy news, it saves those who are still alive,” said 32-year-old Saoud Qarneyta, reacting to Hamas’ response and Trump’s intervention. “This is enough. Houses have been damaged, everything has been damaged, what is left? Nothing.”
GAZAN RESIDENT HOPES ‘WE WILL BE DONE WITH WARS’
Ismail Zayda, 40, a father of three, displaced from a suburb in northern Gaza City where Israel launched a full-scale ground operation last month, said: “We want President Trump to keep pushing for an end to the war, if this chance is lost, it means that Gaza City will be destroyed by Israel and we might not survive.
“Enough, two years of bombardment, death and starvation. Enough,” he told Reuters on a social media chat.
“God willing this will be the last war. We will hopefully be done with the wars,” said 59-year-old Ali Ahmad, speaking in one of the tented camps where most Palestinians now live.
“We urge all sides not to backtrack. Every day of delay costs lives in Gaza, it is not just time wasted, lives get wasted too,” said Tamer Al-Burai, a Gaza City businessman displaced with members of his family in central Gaza Strip.
After two previous ceasefires — one near the start of the war and another earlier this year — lasted only a few weeks, he said; “I am very optimistic this time, maybe Trump’s seeking to be remembered as a man of peace, will bring us real peace this time.”
RESIDENT WORRIES THAT NETANYAHU WILL ‘SABOTAGE’ DEAL
Some voiced hopes of returning to their homes, but the Israeli military issued a fresh warning to Gazans on Saturday to stay out of Gaza City, describing it as a “dangerous combat zone.”
Gazans have faced previous false dawns during the past two years, when Trump and others declared at several points during on-off negotiations between Hamas, Israel and Arab and US mediators that a deal was close, only for war to rage on.
“Will it happen? Can we trust Trump? Maybe we trust Trump, but will Netanyahu abide this time? He has always sabotaged everything and continued the war. I hope he ends it now,” said Aya, 31, who was displaced with her family to Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip.
She added: “Maybe there is a chance the war ends at October 7, two years after it began.”
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Mass Rally in Rome on Fourth Day of Italy’s Pro-Palestinian Protests
A Pro-Palestinian demonstrator waves a Palestinian flag during a national protest for Gaza in Rome, Italy, October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Claudia Greco
Large crowds assembled in central Rome on Saturday for the fourth straight day of protests in Italy since Israel intercepted an international flotilla trying to deliver aid to Gaza, and detained its activists.
People holding banners and Palestinian flags, chanting “Free Palestine” and other slogans, filed past the Colosseum, taking part in a march that organizers hoped would attract at least 1 million people.
“I’m here with a lot of other friends because I think it is important for us all to mobilize individually,” Francesco Galtieri, a 65-year-old musician from Rome, said. “If we don’t all mobilize, then nothing will change.”
Since Israel started blocking the flotilla late on Wednesday, protests have sprung up across Europe and in other parts of the world, but in Italy they have been a daily occurrence, in multiple cities.
On Friday, unions called a general strike in support of the flotilla, with demonstrations across the country that attracted more than 2 million, according to organizers. The interior ministry estimated attendance at around 400,000.
Italy’s right-wing government has been critical of the protests, with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni suggesting that people would skip work for Gaza just as an excuse for a longer weekend break.
On Saturday, Meloni blamed protesters for insulting graffiti that appeared on a statue of the late Pope John Paul II outside Rome’s main train station, where Pro-Palestinian groups have been holding a protest picket.
“They say they are taking to the streets for peace, but then they insult the memory of a man who was a true defender and builder of peace. A shameful act committed by people blinded by ideology,” she said in a statement.
Israel launched its Gaza offensive after Hamas terrorists staged a cross border attack on October 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 people hostage.
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Hamas Says It Agrees to Release All Israeli Hostages Under Trump Gaza Plan
Smoke rises during an Israeli military operation in Gaza City, as seen from the central Gaza Strip, October 2, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas
Hamas said on Friday it had agreed to release all Israeli hostages, alive or dead, under the terms of US President Donald Trump’s Gaza proposal, and signaled readiness to immediately enter mediated negotiations to discuss the details.