Paralympics chief says there’s no reason to ban Israel from 2024 Games
Andrew Parsons says that while Russia, Belarus were banned for violating Olympic constitution, Israel has not done so
Wars and conflicts should not influence participation in the Paralympics, which need to convey a message of hope and support, and Israel should not be sanctioned, Andrew Parsons, the head of the International Paralympic Committee (IPC), has said.
Israel will fully participate in the Games, despite international attempts to ban the country over the prosecution of its war against the Hamas terror group in Gaza that cite alleged similarities to the Olympic and Paralympic ban on Russia after its unprompted war declared on its neighbor Ukraine.
The IPC said in March that Russian and Belarusian athletes joining the Paris 2024 Paralympics would not be part of the opening ceremony.
The countries were barred from the 2022 Winter Paralympics the day before the games began, with officials citing the then-recent Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Russian and Belarusian athletes cannot take part in team competitions at the July 26-August 11 Olympics and the August 28-September 8 Paralympics, but are allowed to participate as neutrals — without flags or anthems being played.
Parsons told Reuters that the situation was fundamentally different from the Israeli one.
“The situations are different… The Russian and Belarusian Paralympic Committees were suspended because both organizations have breached the [Olympic] constitution,” Parsons said 100 days before the start of the Paris Paralympics.
“They used the Olympic movement to promote the war and the invasion of Ukraine.”
In contrast, Olympic authorities believe Israel should not be penalized.
“In the case of Israel, the Paralympic Committee and even the Palestine Paralympic Committee have not done anything of that nature, so we don’t have any process in place when it comes to suspending those national Paralympic committees,” Parsons explained.
“So far, the two national Paralympic [committees] are in line with our constitution, and we don’t have any suspension process in place targeting those two nations.”
The Gaza war was prompted by the October 7 massacre when thousands of Hamas-led terrorists burst across the border into Israel by land, air and sea, killing some 1,200 people and seizing 252 hostages amid acts of brutality and sexual assault.
The Hamas-run Gaza health ministry claims more than 35,000 people in the Strip have been killed or are presumed dead in the resulting fighting so far, though the figures are unverified and include what Israel says are at least 15,000 Hamas fighters, and though only some 24,000 fatalities are said to have been identified at hospitals.
Parsons added the Olympic movement should keep a cool head and promote peace.
“We don’t want to be directed by the conflicts around the world. I think the message is the other way around, that even if there are countries who are in conflict, even in the most difficult and challenging situations, support can still be a beacon of hope,” Parsons said.
