Palestinian Olympic Committee Urges IOC to Bar Israel from Paris 2024
TEHRAN (Tasnim) - Palestinian Olympic Committee President Jibril Rajoub has called on the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to bar Israel from participating in the Paris 2024 Olympics to make the world aware of the atrocities committed in Gaza.
Speaking at Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport, Rajoub compared Israel’s atrocities to those of apartheid-era South Africa, which was banned from the Olympics from 1964 to 1988.
According to Anadolu, Rajoub asserted that Israel's Olympic Committee has forfeited its right to participate in international sporting events, referencing the IOC's 1970 decision to expel the South African National Olympic Committee (NOC).
He highlighted a letter he wrote to the IOC last week, requesting Israel's exclusion from the Olympics due to Israeli forces' bombardment of Gaza, which has resulted in over 39,000 Palestinian deaths, mostly women and children, since Oct. 7.
"We want the world to realize the crimes of the fascists, racists, and Nazi occupiers against the Palestinian people,” Rajoub said, urging the IOC to reconsider its stance.
However, the IOC rejected the request.
Rajoub further stated, "What is happening in the Gaza Strip, as well as in East Jerusalem and throughout the Palestinian territories, is similar to what the Nazis did in the 1940s."
He added, "The world is well aware that the greatest threat to international peace and stability in the region is Israel's refusal to end the occupation of Palestinian territories and grant the Palestinian people the right to live peacefully."
Rajoub criticized the IOC for double standards, claiming that allowing Israel to compete violates Olympic treaties, international law, and sports ethics.
"For legal, moral, and humanitarian reasons, Israel has forfeited its right to participate in this event," he said, emphasizing that those who support Israel's participation should remember the missiles that fell on children in Gaza.
Rajoub mentioned a possible meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron, anticipated to occur on Thursday or Friday, where he hoped Macron would announce the recognition of Palestine as a state in accordance with international resolutions.
“Our message to France and the French people is that the time has come to recognize the Palestinian state and that they must take a stand against the Israeli attacks on the Palestinian people,” he said.