Several hundred people demonstrated and showed their support for the Palestinian cause on Saturday in Oslo during the Norway-Israel 2026 World Cup qualifying match, AFP journalists noted.

Activists briefly unfurled a giant Palestinian flag and a huge "Let the Children Live" banner in the stands of Ullevaal Stadium, where only a few dozen Israeli fans were seated, waving Israeli flags and a "Let the Ball Do the Talking" banner.

A pro-Palestinian activist was forcibly expelled.

Whistles then sounded during the Israeli anthem and the Israeli team was booed.

Wearing keffiyehs and waving Palestinian flags, several hundred demonstrators gathered a few hours earlier in the city center before walking peacefully, under thick curtains of smoke, to the perimeter of the stadium, which was under heavy police security.

"The message today is to say that we are waving the red card against Israel, against apartheid and against genocide," Line Khateeb, president of the Norwegian Committee for Palestine, one of the organizations behind the mobilization, told AFP.

"We refuse to allow football to be used to whitewash war crimes, as is the case today with Israel's participation in the World Cup qualifying matches," she said.

The billboards featured slogans such as "Exclude Israel from international football," "Red card to Israel," and "It's genocide, not war."

"Israel has been committing genocide for two years, killing indiscriminately, doing the most horrible things imaginable," one of the protesters, Munib Sarwar, told AFP.

"We must show solidarity with the children and people of Gaza, who have been terrorized for two years," added the 40-year-old engineer.

Organizers decided to continue the demonstration despite the ceasefire agreement in Gaza reached Thursday between Israel and the Islamist movement Hamas.

"This doesn't end the occupation. It doesn't mean the West Bank is free. It doesn't mean Palestine is free. We must continue to push and impose sanctions on Israel to hold them accountable so that Palestine is truly free," Khateeb said.

Numerous police officers on horseback or in riot gear were standing by near the stadium, an AFP journalist observed.

The head of the Norwegian federation, Lise Klaveness, recently indicated that she was working "to ensure that Israel is sanctioned."

"Personally, I think that if Russia is excluded, Israel should also be excluded," she said in a Norwegian podcast.

A few days after the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, UEFA and FIFA jointly banned the Russian national team and clubs from international competitions, a sanction that still remains in force.

Ticket proceeds from the Norway-Israel match will be donated to Doctors Without Borders (MSF), the Norwegian Football Association announced.

With five wins in five matches, Norway tops Group I ahead of Italy and Israel.