THE International Olympic Committee’s (IOC) decision to allow Israel to compete at the 2024 Paris Olympics has been criticized as a double standard.
Palestinian Olympic chief Jibril Rajoub demanded a boycott in a letter to the IOC earlier this week, but it was rejected by International Olympic Committee chief Thomas Bach.
“This confirms that there are international institutions that insist on applying double standards and do not comply with the Olympic Charter, laws and regulations, or morals,” Rajoub said upon arriving at Paris’ Charles de Gaulle Airport with a Palestinian sports delegation, quoted by Antara, Friday (26/7).
About a hundred people turned out to greet the athletes with dates and shouts of “Free, Free Palestine!”.
“Israel or the Israeli Olympic Committee has lost its moral, sporting, humanitarian and legal right to participate,” Rajoub said, adding that Israel’s ongoing bombardment of Gaza constitutes “the crime of genocide, ethnic cleansing.”
Palestinian militants from Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, resulting in the deaths of some 1,170 people.
Read also: Hamas Warns of Zionist Acts of Desecrating Al-Aqsa Mosque
Israel’s retaliatory military campaign to crush Hamas has killed 39,175 people, mostly women and children, according to the health ministry in Hamas-ruled Gaza.
The Palestinian Olympic Committee says some 400 Palestinian athletes have been killed, while others have been unable to train or travel because of Israeli bombings or restrictions.
On the other hand, Russia was banned from the Paris Olympics by the IOC for violating the Olympic Charter when it annexed Ukraine’s sports organization after the Kremlin’s invasion in 2022.
Read also: Netanyahu: Iran Enforces Radical Islam and Demilitarizes Gaza
The IOC has in the past denied that Israel is violating the Olympic Charter and stressed the relationship between the Israeli and Palestinian Olympic Committees.
“We have two National Olympic Committees, that’s the difference with the political world, and in this case they coexist peacefully,” IOC president Thomas Bach said in Paris on Tuesday (23/7).
“We are not in politics, we are there to achieve our mission to unite athletes.”
Read also: Israeli PM Speaks at US Congress, Dozens of Democrats Boycott
Upon arrival on Thursday (25/7), Palestinian swimmer Yazan Al Bawwab said he wanted to raise awareness about the Palestinian struggle and the suffering in Gaza.
“As an athlete… it’s not about medals. It’s about reaching as many people as possible, about the Palestinian struggle,” said Yazan Al Bawwab.
“Sports is also a tool for peace, it is a way to spread my message to the world about the Palestinian people and that we are suffering.”
Meanwhile, an 88-member Israeli delegation arrived in Paris earlier this week and the men’s football team played their first match on Wednesday night (24/7), drawing 1-1 with Mali.
The Israeli national anthem was played at the Parc des Princes stadium and Palestinian flags were waved by a small number of spectators, sparking arguments between them and Israeli supporters. (Ant/P-5)
#Palestine #Slams #IOCs #Double #Standards #Allowing #Israel #Compete #Paris #Olympics
