(AFP) Algerian international footballer Youcef Atal went on trial in France Monday accused of inciting hatred after posting a video in which a Palestinian preacher purportedly threatens Israel with a “black day.”
Atal, who plays for Ligue 1 side Nice, shared the video on his Instagram account, which has 3.2 million followers, shortly after the attack by Hamas militants on Israel on October 7 in which 1,139 people were killed.
In an extract of the footage seen by AFP, the preacher, Mahmoud Al Hasanat, at first talked about the plight of children in Gaza.
Prosecutors said they also identified another extract in which he called on God to “send the Jews a black day,” and “steady the hands” of Gaza inhabitants if they should “throw stones.”
