‘Two hours of feeling good’

Palestinians cheering on their national soccer team in an Arab Cup quarterfinal match against Saudi Arabia, at a displacement camp near Khan Yunis, Gaza Strip. — Saher Alghorra/The New York Times

THE Palestinians needed a win – not on the battlefield, at the United Nations, or in The Hague, but on the football field.

For the first time, the Palestinian national team had reached the quarter-finals of the Arab Cup, the regional tournament dating back to 1963.