On Saturday, in the heat of Houston, Morocco beat Canada 3-0 and became the first nation to reach the quarterfinals of this World Cup. Azzedine Ounahi scored twice, Soufiane Rahimi added a third in stoppage time, and the Atlas Lions moved on to face France in Boston this Thursday. That much is a football result. What happened around the result is harder to file under sports.

In Tel Aviv, Israelis watched and cheered. In Ramallah and Gaza, Palestinians watched and cheered. They were cheering for the same eleven men. I have followed this region long enough to know how rare that sentence is, and how little I should build on top of it.

Let me start with why, because the two crowds arrive at the same team by opposite roads.

For many Israelis, Morocco is not a foreign country. Hundreds of thousands of Israeli Jews descend from families that once lived in Casablanca, Fez, Marrakech, and the villages of the Atlas. Their grandparents kept the recipes, the music, the accent, the ache. When those families watch Morocco play, they are not adopting a team; they are recognizing one. Resumption of ties under the Abraham Accords in 2020 gave the affection a diplomatic frame, but the affection came first, and it will outlast whatever the diplomacy becomes.

For Palestinians, the pull runs the other way. Morocco is the Arab side that wins and still........

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