Celtic find themselves under growing pressure from a pro-Palestinian group demanding they scrap a proposed £2 million deal for winger Jocelin Ta Bi.
The Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (PACBI), one of the founding organisations behind the global BDS movement, has written directly to the Scottish champions urging them to walk away from negotiations with Maccabi Netanya.
PACBI insists this "is not just an ordinary football deal" and warns that Israeli clubs "are not neutral sporting bodies."
The campaign argues that completing any financial transaction with the Israeli side would make Celtic complicit in human rights abuses against Palestinians.
Celtic are locked in talks with Maccabi Netanya but have been told to call them off
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The ownership structure behind Maccabi Netanya sits at the heart of PACBI's concerns.
Aliya Capital Partners, which controls the Israeli club, has poured $30 million into XTEND, a company manufacturing military drones for the Israeli armed forces.
"Since the start of Israel's ongoing genocide against 2.3 million Palestinians in Gaza, XTEND has sold thousands of drones, including armed drones, to the Israeli military," PACBI stated.
There's also a notable overlap in leadership. Ross Kestin serves as Aliya's chief executive while chairing Maccabi Netanya and sitting on XTEND's board.
PACBI notes that XTEND has publicly acknowledged benefiting commercially from Israel's military operations.
Many Celtic fans are Palestine supporters
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Mohammed Alazraq, a board member at Lajee Celtic – the football club established and supported by Celtic fans in the Aida Refugee Camp near Bethlehem – says these concerns hit close to home.
"These are the same kinds of drones that are used to surveil our players, our coaches and our community," he said.
"They are used to monitor refugee camps, to intimidate young people, and to help destroy facilities across the West Bank, including sports infrastructure."
Celtic supporters, particularly the Green Brigade, have long shown solidarity with Palestine through displays that have attracted both international attention and repeated Uefa sanctions.
Celtic are in a tough position this year, having sacked Wilfried Nancy earlier this month
| GETTY"Celtic fans have long been a source of inspiration for Palestinians through their unwavering support for our liberation struggle," PACBI stated.
Alazraq expressed disappointment that Celtic's board appears unwilling to take a stand on Palestine, despite the club's deep connection to his community.
"Football should be about dignity and solidarity," he added. "It should not be used to launder the image of companies and institutions that profit from our oppression."
Martin O'Neill is back in charge for a second time this season on an interim basis
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PACBI drew a pointed parallel with Celtic's own origins, stating: "A club born out of the suffering of British colonial famine should never align itself with a regime that is deliberately using starvation as a weapon."