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Football Palestine can now confirm that former Israel U21 captain, Ataa Jaber will represent Palestine going forward. The box-to-box midfielder has had his paperwork for a one time nationality switch accepted by FIFA and he has been issued a Palestinian travel document by the Palestinian Authority thus enabling him to make his national team debut as early as this month.
Football Palestine first learned of Ataa Jaber’s and the Palestine Football Association’s (PFA) desire to move forward with the nationality switch in January but kept did not report it to protect sources and ensure the move would not be scuppered at the final hurdle.
Jaber’s interest in representing Palestine was piqued during his time with Bnei Sakhnin and he initially approached the PFA at that time to see if such a move could be facilitated. The PFA has been reticent to call up Palestinians playing in the Israeli league although there have been some notable exceptions in recent years. Rami Hamadi was called up while on the books of Bnei Sakhnin in 2021, Reebal Dahamshe became the youngest player to represent Palestine in 2020 at just 17 years old while playing for Hapoel Nof HaGalil. In 2019, Palestine’s Olympic Team called up Maccabi Ahi Nazareth goalkeeper Omar Nahfawi. The move to represent Palestine did not come to fruition initially but the 28 year old’s move to Neftchi Baku has helped grease the wheels and Ataa Jaber figures to be a mainstay of the national team during the 2026/27 World Cup/Asian Cup cycle.
Jaber is not the first player to complete a nationality switch from the Israeli national team in order to represent Palestine. Ali (Rashid) Adawi had done so as recently as two years ago but has yet to participate in any official matches. That said, Ataa Jaber is by far the highest profile player to make the switch. The Maccabi Haifa youth product has played over 150 matches in the Israeli top flight and recently earned a moved to the Azerbaijan Premier League. His decision to represent Palestine in the prime of his career could influence his peers on the other side of the Green Line to do the same.
Jaber’s debut season in Azerbaijan saw him finish as Neftchi Baku’s third top scorer in all competitions with six goals- adding another six assists in 37 appearances. The team finished in third place and were runners up in the Azeri Cup guaranteeing European football for a second successive season.
