The Shabab Palestine girls’ basketball team — also known as Basket Beats Borders — work hard to overcome the systematic barriers imposed upon them. Denied their right to return for the past 78 years, these girls also confront discrimination in Lebanon and neglect by official sports federations.

Captain Majdi Mahjoub, coach of the basketball team, emphasizes that the team carries their Palestinian identity wherever they go, including on their tours to play in Europe. Former player and now-coach Amina al-Madani notes that they were the first Palestinian team from Lebanon to travel abroad for sports competition. She urges the expulsion of “Israel” from international sports competition and emphasizes that their desire to represent Palestine in sporting events is linked to the liberation and reclamation of Palestine.

Reported by Ahmad al-Laheeb for the Palestinian Sports Network