Palestinian athletes told to take ‘resistance’ to the Olympics

RAMALLAH – Eight Palestinian athletes taking part in the Paris Olympics will be symbols of “resistance” during the

Israel-Hamas war in Gaza,

a Palestinian minister said on July 14 as the official delegation left the occupied West Bank.

This will be the eighth time Palestinian athletes have taken part in the Olympics since 1996, but Olympic committee head Jibril Rajoub said the athletes had never felt so much attention.

The athletes are preparing for the start of the Paris Games on July 26 in a “very dark moment in our history”, said Palestine Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Varsen Aghabekian Shahin.

“You are not just athletes, you are also... symbols of Palestinian resistance,” Aghabekian added.

French organisers have stepped up security in Paris because of the conflict. But Rajoub said: “We want this participation to be a message from the Palestinians to the world that it is time for them to be free in their homeland.

“Through this participation, we want to present the suffering of the Palestinian people and the unprecedented killing taking place in Gaza.”

Rajoub said 400 athletes, coaches and sporting officials in Gaza have been killed or wounded since the start of the war on Oct 7 when Hamas attacked Israel.

Victims included Olympic football team coach Hani Al-Masdar and volleyball player Ibrahim Qusaya, who were killed by Israeli bombs.

The attacks in southern Israel resulted in the deaths of 1,195 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli figures. Israel’s military offensive has killed at least 38,584 people in Gaza, also mostly civilians, according to a toll issued by the Health Ministry in the Hamas-run territory.

Majed Abu Marahil, a long distance runner who was the first Palestinian to compete in an Olympics in Atlanta in 1996, died in June. According to officials, he suffered kidney failure and could not get treatment as Gaza’s hospitals have been devastated by the conflict.

Rajoub said getting athletes to Paris “is already a victory”.

The eight will between them compete in athletics, swimming, archery, taekwondo, judo and boxing. One secured a place through qualifying and seven were given special invitations.

Swimmer Valerie Tarazi, 24, has United States and Palestinian nationality and won titles at the Arab Games in Algeria in 2023. Tarazi said she has relatives in Gaza and speaks with them almost every day.

“My heart aches for them,” she said of the Gaza people. “Being in Paris on behalf of Palestine is a very important thing, and taking part in a global swimming competition at a time when there are no places to train is surreal.”

Boxer Waseem Abu Sal’s coach Ahmed Harara is a Gazan based in Cairo, whom he sees only when he travels for international competitions.

Harara could not see his fighter because of “the occupation barriers between the West Bank and Gaza” as an ID holder of the latter territory.

Nader Jayousi, a Palestinian Olympic delegation official and mentor to the 20-year-old boxer said the ongoing conflict and casualty updates have knocked the mental health of Abu Sal and his teammates.

He told France 24: “The sports scene in Palestine has been on complete stoppage since Oct 7. When these events started, we were with our delegation at the Asian Games in China, securing a historic achievement with Palestine’s first ever bronze medal for Hala Alqadi, in karate.

“Since then, we have spent our time trying to ensure the safety of our athletes, some of whom are from Gaza...

“In the middle of all these atrocities and all these tragedies, people will see athletes who insist on making their dream come true, on representing a country and a cause.

“I think it represents a great message of peace, showing the world what Palestinians are aspiring to. It is also a message to future generations, to our children whose dreams have been shattered by bombs and rockets.

“These kids will see role models and will aim to be just like our athletes who competed at the Olympic Games in Paris.” AFP