IOC president stresses neutrality after Palestinians request Olympic ban on Israel
French President Macron says Israeli athletes are ‘welcome’ in France, rejects calls to boycott Jewish state from Games
International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach on Tuesday stressed the neutrality of the committee after a Palestinian call for Israel to be barred from the Paris Games over the war in Gaza.
As the Israeli team settled into the Athletes’ Village, the IOC studied a letter from the Palestinian Olympic Committee asking Bach to ban the Israelis, citing the bombings of the Gaza Strip as a breach of the Olympic truce.
The letter sent days before Friday’s opening ceremony “emphasized that Palestinian athletes, particularly those in Gaza, are denied safe passage and have suffered significantly due to the ongoing conflict.”
It said that “approximately 400 Palestinian athletes have been killed and the destruction of sports facilities exacerbates the plight of athletes who are already under severe restrictions.”
But Bach said in a press conference: “The position of the IOC is very clear. We have two National Olympic Committees, that is the difference with the world of politics, and in this respect, both have been living in peaceful co-existence.
“The Palestinian NOC has greatly benefitted. Palestine is not a recognized member state of the UN but the NOC is a recognized National Olympic Committee enjoying the equal rights and opportunities like all the other NOCs.”
He added: “We are not in the political business, we are there to accomplish our mission to get the athletes together.”
The Palestinian call highlights how the war in Gaza is impacting the Paris Games.
France’s foreign minister already had to intervene to stress that Israeli athletes are welcome after a far-left French politician called for them to be barred over the Gaza offensive.
French President Emmanuel Macron said Tuesday that Israeli athletes were “welcome” for the Paris Olympics, rejecting the calls for a boycott.
“Israeli athletes are welcome in our country. They must be able to compete under their colors because the Olympic movement has decided it,” he told France 2 television in an interview, adding that it was “France’s responsibility to provide them with security.”
“I condemn in the strongest possible way all those who create risks for these athletes and implicitly threaten them,” he said.
The IDF has not directly commented on the Palestinian Olympic Committee’s claims. In response to reports of civilian casualties in the Gaza Strip, the IDF Spokesperson’s Unit has said the military carries out “many warning measures before its actions in order to avoid harming uninvolved people,” and that, “Every strike by the IDF is based on intelligence indications of terror infrastructure or the presence of terrorists in the area of the attack.” It blames Hamas for using “the citizens of Gaza as human shields for its terror needs, in total violation of international law.”
