( CNN ) -- A preseason soccer match in Austria had to be abandoned after pro-Palestinian protesters invaded the pitch and started attacking players from Israeli team Maccabi Haifa . Clashes between a group of youths carrying Turkish and Palestinian flags and the Maccabi team broke out at the end of Wednesday 's friendly game with French side Lille . War has been raging in the Middle East for more than two weeks now , with Hamas rockets being fired into Israel , which has responded with continued air strikes on Gaza and a ground incursion into Palestinian territory . The conflict has now claimed 732 Palestinian lives , many of them children according to the Gaza Health Ministry , while Israel has reported 35 deaths -- 32 of those soldiers . Resentment and anger spilled onto the football pitch in the Austrian town of Bischofshofen in the Tyrol region where Maccabi regularly spends a period training before its domestic campaign begins . A group of 20-25 flag-waving people had shown up for the match , according to Itamar Chizik , general manager of the team based in the northern Israeli city of Haifa . `` They were shouting all the game , '' Chizik told CNN . `` This is OK if they want to shout , if they want to demonstrate , but in the 85th minute they went onto the pitch directly to our players , no doubt to engage . `` It was a little bit using of force and then the police came and it took about 10 minutes before we succeeded to take all our players back to the dressing room . Nobody was injured . `` We came here for sport , for football . Our club is well known , we have in our club hundreds of Muslim players , in the A team we have five Muslim players as well as Jewish players and Christian players . `` We 're not dealing with politics , we are a football team . In Haifa , we are living with peace with all religions . You can imagine by yourself the reason why ( this group ) was trying to spoil our camp . `` I believe most of them do n't even know the reason they demonstrate for . But it is not our problem , we came to play football and that 's it -- very clear , very simple . '' Maccabi has twice made the group stages of the European Champions League , in 2002-03 and 2009-10 , and has won the Israeli league 12 times . The team is scheduled to play two more matches before its 10-day stay in Austria ends on Sunday . Its domestic season starts in August . The Israeli Football Association told CNN it is still considering whether to ask European soccer 's governing body UEFA to investigate , calling the incident one of `` pure violence . '' `` We know UEFA are against any kind of political activity , '' said head of communications Shlomi Barzel . `` We are not against protest , it is OK if you come to the game to protest but it is different once they go down to the field . `` We hope this is something that wo n't happen again . '' Chizik praised the reaction of local Austrians to the incident , many of whom apologized to him and the team , and said it was the first time it had encountered anything like this since heading to the region for its preseason preparations . And he also said no-one from Maccabi would be asking UEFA to investigate . `` The police here are doing their investigation , it is a local event -- nothing to do with football , '' he explained . `` We have very good relations with the Austrian teams and with the Austrian Football Association . `` It 's not a question for football , it 's a political question probably and we are not involved in politics at all . The policemen took care to investigate and do everything that should be done to make sure it does n't happen again . '' Maccabi is one of the big four clubs in Israel alongside Maccabi Tel Aviv , Hapoel Tel Aviv and Beitar Jerusalem . It has a reputation for being an inclusive club and Chizik said he was `` totally disappointed '' football and politics had been meshed together on Wednesday . `` Wherever we go in Europe or wherever we play , we never , never merge together politics and football , '' Chizik said . `` Never has any problem come out , we are all friends living together with peace . `` We are all proud Israelis and we do care what is happening in Israel , but we never mixed sports with politics and we are very happy and proud about it at our club . `` We never thought this event should come to sport or football but it is over . '' CNN contacted the Palestinian Football Association , which said it was preparing an official response to the incident . French club Lille said in a statement : `` Although we regret and disapprove any form of violence , mainly those events that occasionally involve sports demonstrations , LOSC remains a football club and a sports entertainment company and it 's not our duty to comment on political matters . '' Football : New home for Shakhtar .
Players from Maccabi Haifa attacked during a pre-season friendly with Lille . Protestors bearing Turkish and Palestinian flags invade the pitch late on . Israeli FA considering whether to ask UEFA to open an investigation . Maccabi general manager says `` Co-existence at our club is well known ''