As the final whistle sounded at Al Bayt Stadium in Qatar’s Al-Khor last Saturday, crowning Algeria as the winners of the FIFA Arab Cup 2021, Maher al-Baqa’s beachside café in Gaza City erupted with joy.

His customers waved the Algerian flag as they ecstatically swayed and danced the dabke to the football chant of “1, 2, 3 … Viva Algerie”. Chocolates and sweets were handed out, and a few women sitting at the tables added to the celebrations by ululating.

“Despite the Palestine national team crashing out in the group stages, we view the Algeria team as our own, and their victory as ours,” al-Baqa said. “They support and love us more than any other Arab country or team.”

Throughout the 18-day tournament hosted by Qatar, support for Palestine has been on avid display. During the opening ceremony, the loudest cheer from fans in attendance came during the Palestinian national anthem.

Translation: The beautiful thing about the Arab Cup final between Tunisia and Algeria is that the winner will raise the flag of Palestine … Congratulations to the Palestinian people for winning the support and love of the liberated people.

The Palestinian flag was also present in the stadiums waved by supporters of the beautiful game. But for the Algerian team – and their fans – one could be mistaken for thinking they were representing Palestine.

In his post-match interview after Algeria had knocked out Morocco in the quarter-final, defender Houcine Benayada pointed to the Algerian and Palestinian flags he had draped over his body and said: “We do not play for any bonus, we play for these two flags.”

And after the final match against Tunisia, Algerian coach Majid Bougherra dedicated his country’s victory to Palestine – and to the “Gaza Strip in particular”.

But where does this open and often emotional support for Palestine – compared with other Arab countries – come from?

According to Tagreed al-Amour, a sports journalist and member of the board of directors at the Palestinian al-Hilal football club, Algerian solidarity for Palestine is prevalent among the government and the public – in stark contrast to a majority of Arab governments that have isolated themselves from the popular support of the Palestinian cause and have either normalised relations with Israel or have backchannel dealings.

“The emphasis of solidarity is represented, or one can say completed, through sports,” al-Amour said, speaking from Gaza City.

Translation: [Raising the Palestine flag] might seem like a small thing but in light of normalising relations [with Israel], the very presence of Palestine in the most important Arab sports tournament is huge.

In return, the Algerian flag is present during different events throughout the squares and centres and shops of cities like Ramallah, Gaza City and Jerusalem, and even raised during protests in the occupied West Bank against the Israeli occupation.

“The Algerian support in football for Palestine has always drawn attention to the need for continued Arab support for the right to self-determination for

Palestine and for the end of the Israeli occupation,” al-Amour explained.

“Those who crown their victory with the Palestine flags and the keffiyeh [scarf] are doing so to send the message of one blood, a symbol of Arab unity, and a rejection of colonialism and normalisation.”

For BeIN commentator Hafid Derradji, the Algerian solidarity with Palestine is “intrinsic to every Algerian child”.

“It’s present in the family, the street, the mosque and the school which all inculcate the values of resistance, freedom and the love and support of the Palestinian people’s struggle against the occupation,” he told Al Jazeera.

BELAÏLI 🇩🇿#FIFArabCup2021 pic.twitter.com/R2tCaRNYOf

— ALLAJR (@aIIajr18) December 19, 2021