Gaza war looms over Paris Olympics
On the eve of the Paris Olympic Games, the Palestine Olympic Committee’s call for Israel’s exclusion, anti-Israel protests and threats are putting Paris on edge.
The opening ceremony is yet to take place but the war in Gaza has already taken over the world’s largest sports event. Amid protests and heightened security measures, the Israeli football team took on Mali on Wednesday, a country that does not recognise Israel.
The game, which ended in a 1-1 draw, was overshadowed by bomb scares, the booing of Israeli players and chants of "free Palestine". The conflict might turn this year’s Olympics into the most geopolitically charged Games in decades.
French president Emmanuel Macron has tried to calm the situation, repeatedly calling for a political truce around the world and within France for the duration of the Games. However, the Palestine Olympic Committee has called for Israel’s exclusion, petitions and social campaigns are gaining momentum and rights groups and athletes alike are urging activism against Israel’s participation throughout the event.
It is likely that protests will intensify once the event kicks off. Failing ceasefire talks, Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s scathing speech to the US congress and renewed fighting in the south of the Gaza Strip, including in areas that had become humanitarian zones, are adding fuel to the fire.
Although athletes have been banned from expressing their political views and opinions during the Games, some might push the boundaries by refusing handshakes or making gestures, for example.
How Paris will deal with possible actions is unclear, but a wrong move or controversial intervention could trigger even bigger protests.
The headquarters of the Paris 2024 Olympics and Paralympics Organizing Committee © PHOTO JOEL SAGET / AFP
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