Ataa Jaber (Arabic: عطاء جابر, Hebrew: עטאא ג'אבר; born 3 October 1994) is a professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder for Qatar. Born in Israel, he plays for the Palestine national team.

Ataa Jaber
Jaber playing for Maccabi Haifa in 2016
Personal information
Full name Ataa Jaber
Date of birth (1994-10-03) 3 October 1994 (age 30)
Place of birth Majd al-Krum, Israel
Height 1.76 m (5 ft 9 in)[1]
Position(s) Defensive midfielder
Team information
Current team
Qatar
Number 6
Youth career
2005–2014 Maccabi Haifa
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2012–2017 Maccabi Haifa 44 (1)
2015Bnei Sakhnin (loan) 10 (1)
2017–2021 Bnei Sakhnin 100 (6)
2021–2022 F.C. Ashdod 30 (2)
2022-2024 Neftchi Baku 41 (7)
2024– Qatar 1 (0)
International career
2015–2017 Israel U21 8 (2)
2023– Palestine 7 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 4 April 2024
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 20 January 2024

Early life

edit

Jaber was born in Majd al-Krum, Israel, to a Muslim-Arab family.[2]

Club career

edit

Ataa Jaber got his professional start with Maccabi Haifa making his senior team debut at 17 years old in the 2011–12 season. Unable to reserve a place in the first team, Ataa Jaber signed for Bnei Sakhnin during the 2016–17 season.[3]

He moved to F.C. Ashdod in 2021 on a one-year deal.[4]

In 2022, Jaber made his first move to a foreign league signing with Azerbaijan Premier League club Neftchi Baku.

In the summer of 2024 he signed a one-year contract with Qatar side club Qatar SC

International career

edit

Jaber had represented and captained the Israel national U21 team. However in 2023, he filed for a nationality switch to represent Palestine internationally.[5] He debuted in a friendly 0–0 tie with Indonesia on 14 June.[6][7]

After the October 7 attacks, Israeli Interior Minister Moshe Arbel called for Jaber's Israeli citizenship to be revoked.[8]

Career Statistics

edit

Club

edit
As of 28 May 2024[9]
Club Season League National Cup League Cup Continental Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Maccabi Haifa 2011-12 Israeli Premier League 1 0 1 0
2012-13 8 0 8 0
2014-15 13 0 1 0 7 0 21 0
2015-16 19 1 4 0 6 1 29 2
2016-17 3 0 1 0 0 0 4 0
Total 44 1 5 0 14 1 0 0 63 2
Bnei Sakhnin (loan) 2014-15 Israeli Premier League 10 1 10 1
Bnei Sakhnin 2016-17 Israeli Premier League 6 0 6 0
2017-18 23 2 1 0 2 0 26 2
2018-19 18 1 1 1 4 0 23 2
2019-20 Liga Leumit 23 1 23 1
2020-21 Israeli Premier League 30 2 1 0 4 1 35 3
Total 100 6 3 1 10 1 113 8
F.C. Ashdod 2021-22 Israeli Premier League 30 2 0 0 30 2
Neftchi Baku 2022-23 Azerbaijan Premier League 28 5 5 0 4[a] 1 37 6
2023-24 17 3 0 0 4[a] 0 21 3
Total 45 8 5 0 8 1 58 9
Career Total 229 18 13 1 24 2 8 1 274 22
  1. ^ a b Appearance(s) in UEFA Europa Conference League

Honours

edit

Club

edit
Maccabi Haifa
Netchi Baku

References

edit
  1. ^ "Ataa Jaber". Neftçi PFK. Retrieved 23 November 2023.
  2. ^ ""אם נשמע קריאות גזעניות נעזוב את המגרש"". 4 May 2015.
  3. ^ ""عطاء جابر قريب من الانضمام لاتحاد أبناء سخنين"". 4 June 2023.
  4. ^ "" عطاء جابر ينضم للنادي الرياضي أشدود لموسم واحد"". 4 June 2023.
  5. ^ "" Ataa Jaber completes nationality switch, will represent Palestine"". 4 June 2023.
  6. ^ "Indonesia vs. Palestine - Football Match Summary - June 14, 2023 - ESPN". ESPN.com.
  7. ^ "Playing for Palestine: Former captain of Israel's youth soccer team explains why he switched nationalities". Ynetnews. 18 September 2023. Retrieved 3 September 2024.
  8. ^ "Soccer player could lose Israeli citizenship over Gaza tribute". Jewish News Syndicate. 21 November 2023. Retrieved 3 September 2024.
  9. ^ Ataa Jaber at Soccerway
edit