Jul 23. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The Iranian government on Tuesday demanded that Israel be excluded from the Paris Olympic Games, which begin on Friday, for its “war against innocent people” in Gaza, in reference to the military offensive unleashed against the enclave following the attacks carried out on October 7 by the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) and other Palestinian factions.
“Announcing the reception and protection of the delegation of the terrorist and apartheid Zionist regime only gives legitimacy to the murderers of children,” the Iranian Foreign Ministry said on its account on the social network X. “They do not deserve to be present at the Paris Olympics for their war against innocent people in Gaza,” it added.
Tehran’s comments came a day after French Foreign Minister Stéphane Séjourné said that “on behalf of France, the Israeli delegation is welcome” and added that he had spoken with his Israeli counterpart, Israel Katz, to convey to him that French security forces “will guarantee the security” of Israeli athletes attending the sporting event.
Just a few days earlier, Thomas Portes, of the left-wing La France Insoumise party, had said that this delegation was “not welcome in Paris” and had advocated using “all mechanisms to call for demonstrations” against the Israeli offensive against Gaza. “I believe that French diplomacy should put pressure on the International Olympic Committee (IOC) so that the Israeli flag and anthem are not allowed during these Olympic Games, as is done with Russia,” he argued.
In recent months, there have been growing calls from various quarters for the IOC to exclude Israeli athletes from the Olympic Games due to the offensive against Gaza, in a move they justify as a continuation of the measure taken against Russia following the start of the invasion of Ukraine, unleashed in February 2022 by order of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Israel launched an offensive against the Strip following the October 7 attacks, which left nearly 1,200 people dead and some 240 kidnapped. Hamas-controlled Gaza authorities have reported nearly 39,100 dead, in addition to more than 560 Palestinians killed in the West Bank and East Jerusalem in operations by Israeli forces or in attacks by settlers.
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