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Rabat – A global campaign has been launched urging the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to ban Israel from participating in the 2024 Paris Olympic Games set to begin on July 26.
Initiated by pro-Palestine activists, the campaign stresses that Israel should not be allowed to participate in the event in light of the genocide it has been committing in the Gaza Strip since October 7 last year. They argued that Israel’s actions contradict the human values celebrated by the Olympics.
The activists have taken to social media, promoting the hashtag #BanIsraelFromParisOlympics to raise awareness and pressure Olympic organizers. “Every life lost in Gaza is a scar on humanity. Ban Israel from the Olympics to show that we care and that justice matters,” a social media user said.
Critics of the IOC’s decision also pointed out that the committee banned Russia from the Olympic Games for its war on Ukraine, questioning why the same standards are not being applied to Israel. They argued that the refusal to ban Israel demonstrates a double standard in the IOC’s enforcement of its policies.
“Whats crazy is that most of their [Israel’s] athletes are actual criminals who served in the IDF at some point in their life. Some of them might’ve comitted war crimes, but apparently for the olympic committee that doesnt matter. They need to ban Russian citizens instead,” a netizen said on social media platform X.
Read also: Russian Wrestlers Reject IOC’s Neutral Athlete Invitation for Paris Olympics
Demonstrations against the IOC’s decision have erupted in several European countries, particularly hosts France, where protesters gathered in front of IOC headquarters to call for Israel’s exclusion from the event. Protestors waved Palestinian flags and held banners with messages such as “No Olympic Games for perpetrators of genocide” and “Genocide is not a sport.”
The Palestinian Football Association (PFA) also submitted a request to the IOC in May, seeking to exclude Israel from the Olympics due to its actions in Gaza.
French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin announced on Sunday that France will provide round-the-clock protection for Israeli athletes during the Olympics.
Darmanin’s announcement came after French leftist MP Thomas Portes and MP Aymeric Caron have both called on the IOC to prevent Israeli athletes from participating, comparing Israel’s situation to that of Russia and Belarus, which have faced Olympic bans in the past.
