Olympics perfect platform to tell world of Palestine’s suffering: Committee chief
Palestine Olympic Committee President Jibril Rajoub has made the remark in an interview with the Reuters news agency.
He said hundreds of athletes have been killed, injured, are missing or have been arrested across Palestine and sports facilities destroyed.
“We could not bring out any one of the athletes from Gaza. Inside the West Bank, the movement is not easy, but in spite of that, we could find a small team who were qualified or with a wildcard,” Rajoub added.
He also said it would be up to individual athletes if they want to face Israelis in the Paris Olympic Games, adding that his organisation faces rebuilding after the competition.
The Palestinian team for the games consists of six athletes competing in boxing, judo, taekwondo, shooting and swimming. They have slim hopes of a medal.
Palestinian sports officials have said that since the start of the war in Gaza in October, more than 300 athletes, referees and sports officials have been killed and all sports facilities in Gaza demolished.
Empty words if you don't back it up with anything, it's been 9 months now.
Macron demands ‘immediate ceasefire’ in Gaza
French President Emmanuel Macron has demanded an “immediate ceasefire” in Gaza, according to a press release from Elysee Palace.
It was released as Macron hosted Israeli President Isaac Herzog at the palace, just a few hours before the start of the Paris 2024 Olympics opening ceremony.
Macron spoke with his Israeli counterpart as part of talks on the sidelines of the Olympics and was expected to reiterate his commitment to “ensuring the safety of Israeli athletes”.
With the Israeli war on Gaza continuing to escalate, the Israeli team’s participation has been a subject of controversy within the pro-Palestinian community.
“Faced with the unbearable human toll among the civilian population of Gaza and the unsustainable humanitarian situation, the president will call for the conclusion without further delay of an immediate and lasting ceasefire to allow the release of all the ‘hostages’ of Hamas, including that of our two compatriots, as well as the huge delivery of medical and humanitarian aid,” the press release read.
Silence the guns for Olympic Games: UN’s Guterres
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has urged countries around the world to stop armed conflict as part of “the Olympic truce”, saying during a meeting with International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach that the event was a chance for peace.
“I want to express the total support of the United Nations to the IOC,” Guterres said. “We live in a divided world where conflicts are proliferating in a dramatic way – the horrendous suffering in Gaza, the seemingly endless war in Ukraine, terrible suffering from Sudan to the DRC [Democratic Republic of the Congo], from the Sahel to Myanmar.
“In a moment like this, it is important to say that the first recorded in history, real peace initiative was the Olympic truce.”
The games kick off later today and end on August 11 with the participation of more than 10,500 athletes representing 206 nations and territories, including a Palestinian team. While not a full member of the United Nations, Palestine has an official national Olympic committee.
